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PlayStation Plus Game Catalog for September: The Plucky Squire, Night in the Woods, Under The Waves and more

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Jump between 2D and 3D worlds in a storybook adventure that literally leaps off the page, dive into the depths of the North Sea in a techno-futuristic 1970s, reconnect with friends in a crumbling former mining town and more with September’s PlayStation Plus Game Catalog lineup*! The Plucky Squire launches day and date into PlayStation Plus, with the lineup’s headliner joined by Under The Waves, Night in the Woods and many more games. We’re also announcing new classics and PS VR2 game offerings coming to PlayStation Plus Premium, which includes action rhythm shooter Pistol Whip. All these games will be available from September 17.

Let’s take a closer look at each of the new game announcements. 

PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium | Game Catalog

The Plucky Squire | PS5

The Plucky Squire follows the magical adventures of Jot and his friends – storybook characters who discover a three-dimensional world outside the pages of their book. When the malevolent Humgrump realizes he’s the villain of the book – destined to lose his battle against the forces of good for all eternity – he kicks the heroic Jot out of its

PlayStation Store: August 2024’s top downloads

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It’s time to see which PS5, PS4, PS VR2, PS VR, and free-to-play games topped the download charts last month. New release Black Myth: Wukong journeyed to the top of the download charts on August’s PS5 list, with Swordsman VR and Beat Saber taking top spots in the US and EU regions.

Check out the full listings below. What titles are you playing this month?

PS5 Games

US/CanadaEU
Black Myth: WukongBlack Myth: Wukong
EA SPORTS Madden NFL 25Grand Theft Auto V
EA SPORTS College Football 25Star Wars Outlaws
Grand Theft Auto VHogwarts Legacy
Star Wars OutlawsBaldur’s Gate 3
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six SiegeMarvel’s Spider-Man 2
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege
Baldur’s Gate 3Gran Turismo 7
Hogwarts LegacyAmong Us
WWE 2K24Sea of Thieves
HELLDIVERS 2Assassin’s Creed Mirage
Ghost of Tsushima DIRECTOR’S CUTCyberpunk 2077
Sea of ThievesThe Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
ELDEN RINGIt Takes Two
Gran Turismo 7ELDEN RING
Cyberpunk 2077Thank Goodness You’re Here!
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare IIIGhost of Tsushima DIRECTOR’S CUT
Among UsWWE 2K24
MLB The Show 24Cat Quest III
Mortal Kombat 1Vampire Survivors

*Naming of products may differ between regions
*Upgrades not included

PS4 Games

US/CanadaEU
MinecraftMinecraft
Call of Duty: Black Ops IIIA Way Out
Batman: Arkham KnightThe Forest
Red Dead Redemption 2Grand Theft Auto V
Grand Theft Auto VGang Beasts
Castle Crashers RemasteredFirewatch
Gang BeastsKingdom Come: Deliverance
The ForestRed Dead Redemption 2
FirewatchNeed for Speed Payback
Need for Speed PaybackBatman

Welcome PlayStation 5 Pro, the most visually impressive way to play games on PlayStation

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UPDATE: On September 26, 2024, pre-orders will be available directly from PlayStation at direct.playstation.com and at participating retailers in territories where direct.playstation.com isn’t available. On October 10, 2024, pre-orders will be available at all other participating retailers.


Over the last four years since the launch of PS5, we’ve worked hard to continuously evolve the console experience and deliver the great games our players expect from us. Today, I’m incredibly proud to announce the next step in that evolution and welcome PlayStation 5 Pro to the PlayStation family – our most advanced and innovative console hardware to date.

Welcome PlayStation 5 Pro, the most visually impressive way to play games on PlayStation

We developed PS5 Pro with deeply engaged players and game creators in mind – as many have asked for a console that runs even higher fidelity graphics with smoother frame rates at 60FPS. We achieved this on PS5 Pro with several key performance features.*

  • Upgraded GPU: With PS5 Pro, we are upgrading to a GPU that has 67% more Compute Units than the current PS5 console and 28% faster memory. Overall, this enables up to 45% faster rendering for gameplay, making the experience much smoother.
  • Advanced Ray Tracing: We’ve added even more powerful ray tracing that provides more dynamic reflection and refraction of light. This allows the rays to be cast at double, and at times triple, the speeds of the current PS5 console.
  • AI-Driven Upscaling: We’re also introducing PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution, an AI-driven upscaling that uses a machine learning-based technology to provide super sharp image clarity by adding an extraordinary amount of detail.

PS5 Pro provides gamers with amazing graphics at high frame rates. You can hear Mark Cerny, lead architect for PS5 Pro, discuss the key innovations from PS5 Pro in the following video presentation. This presentation provides a deep dive into the key performance features that make PS5 Pro truly special.

Mortal Kombat 1: Khaos Reigns — unleashing Sektor’s vicious new Brutality

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Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves interview  — SNK director discusses the series’ new direction

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It’s been quite a long time since the pioneering fighting game franchise Fatal Fury has seen a proper new installment. Yes, characters from the Fatal Fury series have shown up in other games, but the last proper Fatal Fury game, Garou: Mark of the Wolves, hit arcades all the way back in 1999. 25 years later, the Legendary Wolves are back in action in Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, ready to captivate a new generation of fighting gamers and tie-up plot threads longtime fans have seen dangling for decades. 

To get a close-up look at Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, we sat down with director Hayato Konya and art director Yoichiro Soeda to discuss the game’s development, the new and returning faces, and what makes it special.

A continuation long in the making 

Fatal Fury is among the pioneers of the fighting game genre. The original game followed martial artists Terry and Andy Bogard and their friend Joe Higashi on a quest to avenge the death of their adoptive father. It emphasized story and cinematics, ending with a shocking climactic scene where villain Geese Howard falls to his demise from a skyscraper. From that point on, Fatal Fury’s gameplay would evolve greatly. Still, the emphasis on stylish and memorable characters, action-film-inspired stories, and its vibrant Southtown setting would continue.

“In the very beginning, we had the concept where Fatal Fury was like a movie, where the protagonists had to work up to fight the big villain,” Soeda said. “It was popular, and players wanted more, so we kept expanding with each game. At one point, Terry takes on Geese’s child Rock as his son. At the time, we didn’t know where that would lead.” 

Eventually, however, Rock became the new face of Fatal Fury.

These wolves pack style

One of the most striking elements of City of the Wolves is its bold, vibrant art style. The visuals were meant to evoke a mixture of American comic art and Japanese anime and appeal to both old and new players. 

“We wanted the characters to really ‘pop’ and be striking. We thought American comic books do that well, and we wanted to emulate that,” Soeda said. “Fatal Fury traditionally has an anime style to it. We felt that, for the modern audience, the blending of those two things would work well for the game. Now we have it, and it looks great.”

Destiny 10th Anniversary: PlayStation Studios devs reflect on their time as Guardians

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Can you believe it’s been 10 years since Destiny first launched on PS3 and PS4? 10 years since players first chose Hunter, Titan, or Warlock and jumped into Bungie’s expansive sci-fi world to build up their fledgling Guardian. I can still vividly remember my first time facing off against a daunting Fallen Walker in the Cosmodrome during the Destiny alpha all those years ago.

To celebrate the series’ decade-long run, we asked developers from PlayStation Studios to share their fondest memories playing Destiny and their developer perspective on what makes the game so sticky and satisfying.

Destiny 10th Anniversary: PlayStation Studios devs reflect on their time as Guardians

With no further ado, happy 10th anniversary, Destiny!


When Destiny first launched, and after I played for a bit, I actually reached out to my old high school friends who live in another town and convinced them to buy a PS4 and immediately join me. We had such a great time that it kickstarted our weekly game night that has been going on since 2014. Destiny was basically the reason why we reconnected and became even better friends.

I usually can’t play a game without analyzing the animations. I’ve always been impressed with Destiny’s cinematics and enemy animations. Each faction has always felt very distinct and unique from each other with varied personalities coming through their movement. Bungie’s use of runtime, full-body IK rigs has always been amazing as well.

Bruno Velazquez, Game Director, Santa Monica Studio

Read more

Tune in tomorrow for a PlayStation 5 Technical Presentation hosted by Mark Cerny

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Join us for a streamed presentation hosted by Mark Cerny, Lead Architect of the PS5 console. The 9-minute Technical Presentation will focus on PS5 and innovations in gaming technology.

How to watch

The stream will be broadcast in English on the PlayStation YouTube channel September 10 at 8:00am PT / 11:00am ET / 4:00pm BST.

Tune in tomorrow for a PlayStation 5 Technical Presentation hosted by Mark Cerny

Regarding co-streaming and video-on-demand (VOD)

Please note that this broadcast may include copyrighted content (e.g. licensed music) that PlayStation does not control. We welcome and celebrate our amazing co-streamers and creators, but licensing agreements outside our control could interfere with co-streams or VOD archives of this broadcast. If you’re planning to save this broadcast as a VOD to create recap videos, or to repost clips or segments from the show, we advise omitting any copyrighted music.

Astro Bot: How Team Asobi created a unified vision for fun

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Astro Bot made his anticipated return to PS5 with last week’s release of the titular game. Team Asobi, the PlayStation Studio behind Astro’s Playroom, infused the little bot’s big new adventure with enough stages, power-ups, secrets, and fun to make any 3D platforming fan grin.

With the game’s launch fresh in our minds, I visited Team Asobi’s studio to interview the development team about the studio’s history, development style, and tribute to 30 years of PlayStation. Let’s delve right into it.

Art & Animation: Everything begins with gameplay ideas

Left: Jamie Smith, Principal Animation Director, Team Asobi
Middle: Sebastian Brueckner, Principal Art Director, Team Asobi
Right: Maki Murakami Senior Animator, Team Asobi

PlayStation Blog: What do you prioritize the most when creating characters?

Jamie Smith: I pay close attention to “playfulness.” When creating animations, we model how children express joy, like jumping up and down with excitement, to elicit jubilant feelings among players. Children are packed with actions and emotions, and we strive to imbue all these essences in our character designs.

How do you decide which of these ideas make it into the game?

Sebastian Brueckner: First and foremost, everyone must agree that these ideas will enhance the gameplay. We don’t choose ideas solely from the art aspects, but everything begins with the gameplay ideas. As a team, we collectively envision a series of gameplay scenarios and make decisions on the world and its details. For instance, if the gameplay involves ice, we further collaborate on the idea and may suggest the sea as the world setting. Once the details are finalized, the art comes in to refine the world.

Maki Murakami: This brainstorming process is particularly palpable in Astro’s new power-ups and enhancement designs. Handy-D is one example. The idea behind this long-armed monkey was to assist Astro in climbing. Then we explored the ideas on how we could make it cuter and agreed on the design for it to be carried on Astro’s back. We create prototypes, then playtest them and refine them together to take the level of fun to eleven.

Tech & Programming: New features stem from the pass

Share of the Week: Work

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Last week, we asked you share gaming characters getting to work using #PSshare #PSBlog. Here are this week’s highlights:

MrioMoreno5 shares Lake protagonist Meredith delivering mail and package in her hometown.

snejku23 shares Rivet grabbing a selfie with some industrial workers in Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart.

juniaxe shares Ada showing off her credentials in Resident Evil 2 Remake.

fsantos1697 shares Sam Bridges pausing to collect himself while delivering things in Death Stranding.

call_me_xavii shares Alan staring down writer’s block (or worse) in Alan Wake 2.

SeeyoulaterHihi shares Judy hard at work editing brain dances in Cyberpunk 2077.

Search #PSshare #PSBlog on Twitter or Instagram to see more entries to this week’s theme. Want to be featured in the next Share of the Week?


THEME: Astro Bot
SUBMIT BY: 11:59 PM PT on September 11, 2024 

Next week, Astro Bot’s off on his next big mission! Share adorable and adventurous moments with the titular bot and his many rescued friends using #PSshare #PSBlog for a chance to be featured.

Official PlayStation Podcast Episode 493: The Joy of Astro Bot

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Email us at PSPodcast@sony.com!

Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or download here


Hey folks! This week the podcast crew got to sit down with Team Asobi Studio Director Nicolas Doucet and SIE Studio Business Group CEO Hermen Hulst to talk all things Astro Bot. Plus, we discuss a few games we’ve been playing including Star Wars Outlaws, Doom + Doom II, and of course sweet Astro Bot.

Stuff We Talked About

  • Next week’s releases:
    • Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II | PS5
  • Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake new Monster Wrangler vocation
  • EA Sports FC 25 hands-on details
  • Interview w/ Nicolas Doucet and Herman Hulst (begins at 7:55)
  • Astro Bot
  • Star Wars Outlaws
  • Doom + Doom II

The Cast

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