PS5 showcase predictions: from Spider

Sony may have kept things quiet all year, but there are a lot of potential PS5 games that could make a proper debut in the May showcase.

After an incredibly quiet year so far, Sony is finally ready to lift the lid on its upcoming projects with this Wednesday's preview event. The PlayStation Showcase is due to take place on May 24 at 9pm BST and the hope is that it will be the biggest PS5 event since the launch of the console.

Sony currently only has one confirmed first party game at the moment, in Spider-Man 2, which means they must have dozens of titles in development that we know about only by name or rumours - or merely supposition.

So let's run through every PlayStation title, rumoured or otherwise, that stands a chance of making an appearance at the showcase that is said to be kicking off the second phase of the PlayStation 5.

Let's get the obvious one out of the way. Spider-Man 2 is undoubtedly getting a new trailer and probably a release date. Sony and developer Insomniac have said next to nothing about it since the 2021 announcement and it's launching this autumn, meaning it could be out in just four months.

Now is an especially opportune time to start promoting it, considering Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse is coming out next month and stars not just Miles Morales (one of the game's main characters) but the Insomniac Spider-Man as a cameo.

As for their Wolverine game, while Insomniac likely wouldn't want to draw attention away from Spider-Man 2, a brief teaser or update, just to remind everyone it exists, isn't out of the question. Maybe they’ll even share a launch window, if only to clear up those claims from Microsoft that it's also coming out this year.

There's also a multiplayer game Insomniac was hiring for in 2021. Considering the studio has never acknowledge such a thing there's no clue as to what it is, other than perhaps one of Sony's planned live service games.

Perhaps the only other title guaranteed to make an appearance is Naughty Dog's The Last Of Us multiplayer spin-off, a project that feels like has been in development forever.

Originally removed from The Last Of Us Part 2 to be its own game, Naughty Dog only really began talking about last year and even then just by showing concept art and hyping it up as something as big as the single-player games.

The franchise is more popular than ever thanks to the HBO show, so it’d be more surprising (and maybe a touch concerning) if it didn't get a trailer at the showcase. For those hoping for a mention of The Last Of Us Part 3, though, that seems unlikely.

Despite Uncharted 4 wrapping up the adventures of Nathan Drake, there has been constant chatter of another Uncharted sequel, be it from Naughty Dog itself or another studio entirely.

Sony did allegedly try and get a new project off the ground at Days Gone studio Sony Bend, only for it to be cancelled. Plus, between the series’ popularity and the financially successful movie adaptation, Sony must be eager to get a new entry out.

It's believed such a sequel is hiding in plain sight thanks to a new PlayStation 5 advert, which included live action footage of a young woman exploring ruins and finding an artefact. It doesn't resemble any announced PlayStation 5 games and the Uncharted vibes are so strong that it being for a sequel starring Nathan's daughter makes far too much sense.

As for Naughty Dog, co-president Neil Druckmann has said that development on the studio's next game (besides The Last Of Us multiplayer) has begun, and all signs point to it being a new IP.

Since it's one of Sony's flagship studios, Naughty Dog making multiple game announcements at the showcase is entirely possible. What that new IP is, however, is a mystery, although some have theorised it will be less grounded than Naughty Dog's previous work and feature a fantasy theme.

It's not just The Last Of Us; Guerrilla Games’ Horizon series is getting the multiplayer treatment as well and we probably know more about that game compared to what Naughty Dog is cooking, even though it's never been officially announced.

Job listings confirm it to be an online multiplayer title that sounds similar to Monster Hunter, with players teaming up to explore the world and take down the robot dinosaurs that inhabit it.

A major gameplay leak also gave away its art style, revealing it to be far more cartoony than the photorealistic visuals of the mainline games. It's unclear when it might launch, but an official announcement wouldn't go amiss at the showcase.

There has been talk of a remaster or remake of Horizon Zero Dawn as well, something no one is asking for but that didn't stop Sony with The Last Of Us Part 1.

It's probably far too soon for Santa Monica Studio to start teasing another God Of War game, considering God Of War Ragnarök is still only six months old. A sequel is undoubtedly on the cards but, with no plans for DLC, any Santa Monica project that's unveiled next week would more likely be something brand new.

There were signs of the studio staffing up for another fantasy game, even before God Of War Ragnarök launched, and Santa Monica's Cory Barlog has confirmed that they’re busy with multiple projects.

That means at least one of those could show up at the showcase, especially if it's helping with Sony's live service plans.

It's been three years since Ghost Of Tsushima so you’d think Sucker Punch might have something to show off at the showcase, even if it's not Ghost Of Tsushima 2.

It's suggested that the sequel could be absent from the showcase but, if that's the case, does Sucker Punch not have anything else to appease fans in the interim?

There were once rumours of the studio returning to its inFamous and Sly Cooper franchises, but Sucker Punch has since denied that they or anyone else is working on either IP.

The only alternative then is something original or a smaller Ghost Of Tsushima spin-off. The most likely explanation though is that they're working on the sequel and they just aren't ready to show it yet.

Days Gone 2 may be a pipe dream, but Sony Bend is hoping to build upon its open world system for its next project.

Exactly what it is remains unknown; all that's been said is that it's a new IP, has an open world setting, and will feature multiplayer. Whether this makes it multiplayer only (and potentially another live service game) or if that's just an option is not yet known.

This was announced only recently but, with support for game creation tool Dreams winding down this year, Media Molecule confirmed it has a new project in the pipeline.

Only described as a ‘new adventure,’ you can probably rule it out being something Dreams related. Media Molecule was the original studio behind the LittleBigPlanet games; maybe it's returning to that with a new sequel or spin-off?

It's difficult to gauge how early in production Media Molecule's next game is, which in turn makes it hard to guess whether there'll have anything to show on Wednesday.

Like its fellow Sony studios, Housemarque has expressed little interest in making a sequel to its previous work, in this case 2021's superb Returnal.

Games Inbox: How big of a mistake was the PlayStation Showcase?

Warhammer 40K 10th Edition and Leviathan box set preview – grimdark evolution

Summer Game Fest 2023 preview – Mortal Kombat 1, Persona and Death Stranding 2

Last year, the studio confirmed that whatever it makes next will be a brand new IP, though CEO Ilari Kuittinen said the team was still ‘concepting it out,’ suggesting it was fairly early in production.

He was asked if it would be a live service game but dodged the question, only mentioning that Housemarque's last attempt at a multiplayer centric title didn't go so well and was cancelled.

There have been rumblings of a new Twisted Metal game for a couple of years now, especially once Sony announced the TV show adaptation, which will finally start airing in July.

Rumours suggest a reboot was in development at Lucid Games (which made its own vehicular combat game Destruction AllStars) but was then moved over to VR studio Firesprite Games.

Whether that means this new Twisted Metal is VR or not is impossible to say as there's been no chatter about it since last January. Maybe Sony is planning a surprise announcement and launch to coincide with the TV show? It’d be the best time to do it rather than after the show's come and gone.

Something more concrete is Firesprite's ‘AAA narrative driven horror-adventure game in Unreal 5,’ which leaked thanks to a job listing. Interestingly, it's not confirmed to be a VR title, so the studio is definitely branching out.

The gutting of Sony's Japan Studio was undeniably tragic, but at least Team Asobi – responsible for the Astro Bot games – survived and is keeping busy with a new project.

Unfortunately, there’ve been no details shared since 2021, and it's only implied to be another platformer like the previous Astro Bot games. Whether it's a VR title like Astro Bot: Rescue Mission or not remains to be seen.

After primarily working on remasters and remakes for PlayStation (including the Demon's Souls remake), Bluepoint Games was finally bought out by Sony in 2021 and tasked with making a wholly original game.

A lot of people didn't get that memo though and there's still plenty of rumours doing the rounds that Bluepoint are handling remasters/remakes of Castlevania, Metal Gear Solid, and/or Bloodborne. But as far as anything Sony and Bluepoint has ever said that's not true.

We are launching a new Ask Me Anything community feature

The biggest rumour surrounding the showcase is the announcement of a Metal Gear Solid 3 remake, with multiple sources convinced it's happening.

This is one of those rumours that's floated around the internet for years, with little evidence, but a Silent Hill 2 remake was exactly the same and that did turn out to be true.

Aside from Konami expressing an interest in premium game development again with the Silent Hill revival, sources have insisted since 2021 that Metal Gear is making a comeback as well.

Metal Gear Solid 3 is seemingly the priority, with other rumours claiming to have heard that it’ll be some kind of PlayStation 5 exclusive.

There was also that deleted video of the Hogwarts Legacy composer sharing what sounds an awful lot like the Metal Gear Solid theme, insinuating that they’re working on the series.

Hideo Kojima may not be interested in selling his studio to Sony and is currently rubbing shoulders with Microsoft, but none of that seems to have dampened his relationship with PlayStation.

This is evidenced by Death Stranding's sequel being another PlayStation exclusive, as was confirmed by its announcement at The Game Awards last year. Any subsequent trailer is bound to raise more questions than answer them but the exclusivity makes Death Stranding 2 is likely to be at the showcase.

Given how closely Sony and Square Enix work together, it's no wonder people think the former is going to buy out the latter. That remains just a rumour for now, but it wouldn't be surprising if at least one or two Square Enix titles were shown off at the showcase, exclusive or otherwise.

There’ll probably be another reminder to buy Final Fantasy 16, since that launches next month. However, this could also be where fans see more of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, the second entry in the Final Fantasy 7 remake project that began in 2020.

We know that game is out this winter, making it either a late 2023 or early 2024 launch, and is a PlayStation 5 exclusive. The only thing that may prevent its inclusion is a desire not to overshadow Final Fantasy 16's launch. Sony and Square Enix might be waiting for that game to launch before hyping up an equally large game.

The same goes for Kingdom Hearts 4. Fans are growing more and more hungry for info on that, especially after some vague comments by director Tetsuya Nomura sparked more theories of Star Wars and Marvel worlds being included.

Kingdom Hearts 4 probably won't be an exclusive, since the series has made the jump to other platforms lately, but its heavy association with the PlayStation brand means Sony's showcase is the most likely place for a new trailer. Assuming Square Enix has anything worth showing yet.

In case you need reminding, Sony is going all in on live services, with plans to launch at least 10 of them by 2026 and even buying Destiny developer Bungie to help make them.

So far, not a single one has been announced, so you’d think that Sony has at least a few of them saved up for the showcase.

We do know some of the studios working on them though. Sony was apparently so impressed by developer Haven that they bought the company before their first game could even be annouced.

Second is Firewalk Studios, who, just like Haven, entered an exclusivity deal with Sony for a multiplayer game and then got bought out. The studio has yet to launch a single game but has some pedigree, since their mostly comprised of former Bungie staff.

Third is Sony's London Studio, at least according to allegedly leaked documents that say it's making a live service called Camden, though there were no further details.

It's entirely possible that a bunch of the studios mentioned in this article are also working on or assisting with live service projects, which would make sense given Sony's enthusiasm for them.

Email [email protected], leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter, and sign-up to our newsletter.

MORE : PlayStation first party studio shut down despite unannounced PS5 exclusive

MORE : PS5 Pro is coming Christmas 2024 with devkits this summer claims insider

MORE : PS5 owners are not buying enough new games as Sony misses analyst sales targets

Follow Metro Gaming on Twitter and email us at [email protected]

To submit Inbox letters and Reader's Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here.

For more stories like this, check our Gaming page.

Sign up to all the exclusive gaming content, latest releases before they're seen on the site.