PS5 Price, Launch Date – and exclusive Final Fantasy XVI – Revealed
Sony’s reveal of the PlayStation 5’s launch date and retail price in a new direct broadcast had been long-expected – but the stream’s launch with the unexpected reveal of Final Fantasy XVI certainly took players by surprise.
The upcoming game, developed by Square-Enix, will be exclusive to PlayStation 5, though it would be very surprising if this was not a timed exclusive. It’s predecessor, 2016’s Final Fantasy XV, launched on both PS4 and Xbox One, and was eventually ported to PC and even Google Stadia. Whether or not the sixteenth instalment remains a PS5 exclusive though, it looks fantastic, with the work-in-progress video showing a return to a classical swords-and-sorcery style. Players shouldn’t expect to be playing this too soon though – even the preview footage was stated to be running on PC emulating PS5 performance, indicating it’s still very early in development.
It was just the first in a series of games either revealed or expanded on during the broadcast, which leaned far more heavily on content rather than release details than many had anticipated. The reveal of Final Fantasy XVI segued into a look at Spider-Man: Miles Morales, which is shaping up to be a brilliant continuation of the newest Spider-Man. The title sees Miles having moved from Brooklyn to Harlem, where his mother is running for political office. A brief gameplay reveal shows an extension of the first game’s web-swinging and super-agile mechanics, with a few twists befitting Miles’ slightly different power-set compared to Peter Parker.
A game set in the Harry Potter universe, Hogwarts Legacy, was also announced. Due to franchise creator J.K. Rowling’s repeated transphobic statements, we will not be covering it further. However, if you are interested in the game, you can read more here.
Further showcases were given to upcoming games including Call of Duty – Black Ops: Cold War, offering more military shooting action, and Capcom’s Resident Evil VIII: Village, which looks to build on the brilliant evolution the horror series saw with Resident Evil VII, and is due for release in 2021. Bethesda’s Deathloop, which is shaping up to be brilliantly twisted battle between assassins trapped in a timeloop, also revealed more gameplay, including eight major characters you’ll be targeting, and was confirmed to be PS5 exclusive.
Devil May Cry 5: Special Edition was also confirmed to be available digitally at launch, while a feature trailer marked the return of unlikely alien saviour Abe in Oddworld: Soulstorm. The long-awaited return of the puzzle-platformer series that debuted on the original PlayStation was said by creator Lorne Lanning to be enhanced by the power of PS5, but no release date was given. Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach, a new entry in the indie horror series, received an announcement trailer, but no release date.
An extended gameplay showcase for the remake of PS3 classic Demon’s Souls followed, revealing an almost unspeakably beautiful return to the gothic fantasy world, and the predictable announcement of Fortnite coming to PS5 at launch.
However, the announcement of the PlayStation Plus Collection, a collection of PS4 games including God of War, Persona 5, and The Last Guardian playable on PS5 at launch was more of a shock. This appears to be Sony’s answer to Microsoft’s Game Pass, allowing subscribers to access these “generation definining games” on PS5 for free as part of a PlayStation Plus subscription.
Finally though, the information everyone had been waiting for was revealed – the full featured PlayStation 5, which incorporates a 4K UHD Blu-ray drive, will set you back $499.99 USD/€499 EUR/£449.99 GBP, while the PlayStation 5 Digital Edition will retail for $399.99 USD/€399.99 EUR/£359.99 GBP. The consoles launch on 12 November in the US, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea, and on 19 November in the rest of the world.
With the price and dates revealed at last, there was time for one last game tease – God of War: Ragnarok, launching in 2021.
All in all, a strong showing for Sony, with pricing to compete with Xbox Series X and S, and release dates that puts PS5 hot on Microsoft’s heels.
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