Absent from E3 2021, Sony appears to have capped off a summer of games industry presentations with its September PlayStation Showcase event. The publisher took the opportunity to present a plethora of PS5-exclusive games on the way, but very few are true exclusives.
After a long wait, God of War Ragnarök and Gran Turismo 7 finally stepped back into the spotlight with new trailers. Neither of these marquee titles are PS5 exclusives, however, since both Ragnarök and GT7 are coming to PS4 as well, ing Horizon Forbidden West in the list of , cross-generational PlayStation exclusives.
Also featured in the PlayStation Showcase were third-party games not exclusive to Sony's consoles. Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, the fantasy-inspired Borderlands spin-off, and Rainbow Six Extraction, the survival shooter with R6 Siege's operators, each got a trailer. A first look at Alan Wake Remastered's gameplay was also shown ahead of its October 5 release date, and, surprisingly, it wasn't the only early-2010s video game to show up: Grand Theft Auto 5 had a rather lackluster slot at the showcase, which revealed its current-gen version's release has been pushed back to March 2022.
The PlayStation Showcase did, however, deliver plenty of footage for true, timed, and console PS5 exclusives in its 40-minute run time. There were no updates on hardware; Sony instead focused on games, which are stacking up to a bright future for the PS5.
Deathloop, Ghostwire, & KOTOR - Timed PS5 Console Exclusives
The PlayStation Showcase included three timed console exclusives: Deathloop, Ghostwire: Tokyo, and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic - Remake. Each of these is coming to both PS5 and PC at launch and will come to Xbox consoles in the future.
Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo are both published by Bethesda, whose parent company, ZeniMax Media, was bought by Microsoft shortly after the games were announced as PS5 exclusives. Microsoft later confirmed Ghostwire: Tokyo and Deathloop will honor their PS5 exclusivity until a year after launch, at which point they can be ported to Xbox.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic - Remake is in a similar boat. Official language lists KOTOR as a PS5 exclusive "at launch," meaning an Xbox port is likely to the PS5 and PC versions at some point.
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 - PS5 Exclusive
Insomniac Games dominated the PlayStation Showcase when it comes to true PS5 exclusives, delivering the only two. The developer appears to have big plans for both of its Spider-Men protagonists, as Peter Parker and Miles Morales appeared side-by-side in the announcement trailer for Marvel's Spider-Man 2. Venom is also confirmed to appear in the sequel, and a voiceover teased the possibility of Kraven the Hunter as a main antagonist.
Marvel's Wolverine - PS5 Exclusive
In a surprise announcement, Insomniac revealed it is also working on Marvel's Wolverine. Unlike Spider-Man 2, which is coming in 2023, the Wolverine game was given no release window in its teaser trailer. This suggests it will come sometime later, and while some Easter eggs hinted at a Hulk appearance, details are extremely scarce on the Marvel game.
Forspoken - PS5 Console Exclusive
Forspoken was initially revealed as Project Athia, a new IP from Square Enix for the PS5. The game is in development at Luminous Productions, a Square subsidiary previously known for Final Fantasy 15. The first Project Athia teaser was shown at last year's PS5 reveal, and the September 2021 PlayStation Showcase delivered a new trailer.
Still, much of Forspoken remains a mystery. The protagonist, Frey Holland, travels through some sort of portal to a different world and comes into possession of a talking artifact that grants her magical abilities. The short clips of gameplay footage so far indicate fast-paced traversal combined with telekinetic and magically-powered combat. Forspoken is expected to release in Spring 2022 for PlayStation 5 and PC.
Uncharted: Legacy Of Thieves - PS5 Console Exclusive
Though many were expecting Naughty Dog to share more information on The Last of Us Part 2's multiplayer at the PlayStation Showcase, the developer instead brought its other flagship series. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy are being combined into the Legacy of Thieves Collection, a remaster for PS5 and PC coming in early 2022. This continues Sony's recent trend of bringing first-party PlayStation exclusives to PC, following Horizon Zero Dawn, Death Stranding, and Days Gone.
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End is the conclusion to the story of Uncharted poster boy Nathan Drake and brings about a great deal of closure to his relationship with Elena, who also featured prominently throughout the series. Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, originally intended to be an expansion for Uncharted 4, follows Chloe Frazer and Nadine Ross on an expedition in India.
Bloodhunt - PS5 Console Exclusive
Bloodhunt is a third-person battle royale set in the universe of Vampire: The Masquerade. The game is currently in early access on PC but is coming to PlayStation 5 before the year is out. Many fans of the franchise have been waiting for quite some time on Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2, recently delayed following a change in development studios. Considering Bloodhunt's RPG roots, a battle royale may seems like an odd direction, but it seems to be finding a unique style within the genre.
Players assume the role of a vampire in the urban labyrinth of Prague. There are six different archetypes to choose from, each with their own unique abilities. These abilities, combined with firearms and melee weapons, are used to survive against opposing vampire players and AI soldiers in the streets and across rooftops. Bloodhunt's free-to-play model has a battle system, which appears to allow for a large variety of character customization.
Tchia - PS5 Console Exclusive
Tchia follows its titular character on an adventure around a world heavily inspired by developer Awaceb's home, New Caledonia, a French territory comprised of several islands near Australia. Tchia is able to take control of "any animal or object you can find," from dogs to car tires. It also features a Breath of the Wild-like free climbing mechanic, a customizable boat, and a playable ukulele used to unlock special events. The PlayStation Showcase trailer teased some of Tchia's story and some of the enemies Tchia will face on the island.
The PlayStation 5 feels a bit short on true exclusives. Many of Sony's biggest franchises are launching cross-generationally on PS4, even over a year after the PS5 became available. Insomniac Games is almost single-handedly carrying the weight of actual PS5 exclusives, though its new games likely won't be seen until at least 2023. There are plenty of console exclusives for PS5, launching alongside PC releases, but there appear to be very few so-called system sellers, despite the many trailers at the September 2021 PlayStation Showcase.
