The show will run a bit over an hour, focusing on PS5 and PS VR2 games in development from top studios from around the world. Expect a glimpse at several new creations from PlayStation Studios, as well as spellbinding games from our third-party partners and indie creators.

The live broadcast starts next Thursday, 25 May at 3am (BKK/JKT) / 4AM (SG/KL/MNL) on YouTube and Twitch. Hope to see you there!

Regarding Co-streaming and Video-On-Demand (VOD)

Please note that this web 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 possibly interfere with co-streams or VOD archives of this stream. 

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. 

Last year, we saw players across the world compete in PlayStation Tournaments for an opportunity to play on the world’s biggest fighting game stage. Among them, we saw amazing performances and even new champions crowned. Watch the recap from last year’s event.

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Road to Evo 2023 Tournament Details

This tournament will give players in the global fighting game community a chance to make a name for themselves in their region. See the tournament details:

Each title will have four Qualifiers per region, with the top competitors moving onto broadcasted Final matches in an ultimate showdown of talent and skill. Whether you’re planning to sign up to compete or a spectator looking to watch some amazing action — it’ll be an exciting competition that will shift the global FGC rankings and spotlight the players to watch out for at Evo 2023. 

How you can sign up for the Road to Evo 2023

*Sign up for the Road to Evo 2023 in your region on the Competition Center, or head over to the Events tab on PS4. See you there.

*Access to PS4, game title, and active PS Plus membership required. Must be 18+ and a member of an eligible country. Void where prohibited. 

*The Event in all parts is open to players from across the world, except as otherwise provided in this Section. The Event is not open to individuals wherever restricted or prohibited by applicable law or in any country where participation is prohibited by U.S. law. Without limitation of the foregoing, the Event is not open to individuals in the Crimea region, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Turkey. 

Humanity is available starting today as a Day 1 PlayStation Plus Game Catalog title.*

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Inspired by the “flocking behavior of birds”

Shuhei Yoshida (SY): I heard that Nakamura-san likes to observe flocks of birds, and that’s where you found inspiration for Humanity. Can you tell us more about that? 

Yugo Nakamura(YN): I specialize in Interactive Design, and I like to spend my time programming, sharing my work, and creating visual experiences; I enjoy these things and that’s why I do them for a living. I think a lot of people like me have used a simulation program called “Boids,” which essentially simulates the flocking behavior of birds. If you focus on just a single creature, you’re able to create very organic movements just by programming three simple rules and connecting them. But in the case of birds, the simulation looked so alive, and it was fascinating to see how organically the flock of birds moved, even though it was based on such a simple mechanism. 

From there, I spent some time making a bite-size mobile game that used simple bird movements as motifs. It was like a racing game where you control a flock of birds. 

SY: It’s the one where you try to progress further into the game, right?

YN: Yes. In a regular racing game, you’re only responsible for controlling one car, but in this game, you basically had to control 300 different cars. If you made a small mistake, you lost 100 birds, but then eventually gained back 200!

SY: Game developers like us are always looking to surprise people by creating something that goes above and beyond what you’d expect from a hardware’s capabilities. So when I saw your game, I felt something similar. 

YN: I had similar thoughts as a consumer myself. I was shocked at how smoothly games ran back on the original PlayStation, and I thought that was such a great achievement. From there, I decided that since I already made a game with birds on a smartphone, next I wanted to create a system that controlled large groups of humans. That’s how the idea for Humanity was born. 

SY: Birds’ movements are driven completely by instinct, but in the case of humans, a mix of intellect and social conventions come into play. What aspects did you focus on when designing the movement of crowds of humans?

YN: My first eureka moment was when I saw huge crowds of people at Comic Market (Comiket) in Japan, all properly lined up and waiting patiently. I was fascinated by how the movement of that many people was so controlled and regulated – I think this sort of behavior is unique to humans who are not just herded by instinct.

“Humanity is something special” – how development started

SY: How did you meet Mizuguchi-san?

YN: I’ve always loved games, and I’d seen Mizuguchi-san many times in gaming magazines since his time at Sega. I was a fan of his work. I once had a chance to meet him briefly, but then I saw him again at Unity Developer’s Delight – a developer event hosted by Unity. There, one of our engineers, Yama, showcased a human crowd simulator demo which was the prototype for Humanity. Mizuguchi-san was one of the judges there, and he later got in touch.

Tetsuya Mizuguchi (TM): I met Yugo once at the Japan Media Arts Festival, hosted by Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs, but to me he was like a superstar creator that produced so many unique and creative products. If you turned on the TV you’d see a show that he produced, and if you walked the streets of Ginza, you’d see UNIQLO ads that he had worked on.

Enhance helps navigate the complexities of game design 

SY: Nakamura-san’s “tha ltd.” isn’t a game development studio. How does the collaboration between Enhance work?

YN: We aren’t a game studio, but our expertise lies in design and tech for interactive experiences. Even though we didn’t know much about video game design, we were overly optimistic at the beginning, and decided that our team will be responsible for development, and Enhance will take on the role of publisher and producer.

However, the deeper we went into development, we realized that game development was not at all like we had imagined. I realized rather early on that creating a fun gaming experience is not something an amateur can easily pull off, so I spoke to Mizuguchi-san to have seasoned game designers oversee our work. From there, we had staff from Enhance join our development as well.

The fun and terror of collectivized humanity

SY: I felt like the game’s title, Humanity, is ironic in a sense that it reflects how humanity as a concept can be perceived. Heaps of people walking around in hordes almost reminds me of a totalitarian society. I was really curious as to whether you developed the game with such irony in mind, or whether you were just genuinely interested in people. When creating a game, you have to implement a lot of rules, which may cause the game to end up becoming something that was not originally intended. Did you face any dilemma like that?

YN: Actually, the inspiration behind the game title is a T-shirt that I own with a logo that says “Humanity” – I thought that was a cool logo and the word itself had a nice ring to it. But when you think about it, Humanity has a very deep meaning, and when I reflected on how humanity plays a role in my daily life, many thoughts came to mind. Each and every one of us is generally kind and rational, and not many of us are inherently mad or crazy. However, this all changes drastically when it comes to ‘groups’. Politics, war, cancel culture on social media – people tend to go to extremes when they are part of a larger group. The title, Humanity, embodies the idea that humans gain a new trait when they come together.

When we view human beings as a cluster, and not as individuals, we may associate them with the totalitarian and homogenous image you mentioned earlier, and the fear and extremities that derive from that are certainly an important motif in the game.

SY: Visuals of the game evoke fear as well.

YN: It was even more terrifying and ruthless at the earlier stages. When you looked at a single human from a group’s perspective, they looked like a speck of dust or even a tiny piece of trash. Mizuguchi-san provided us with some guidance and we went in a more gentle direction.

Expanding the community with the Stage Creator

SY: What was the idea behind Stage Creator?

YN: Originally, the development team was working on a tool for level design, and we thought it would be fun to make it public. However, it was quite a challenge to develop it into something that users could play with a controller.

When we previously released the demo, I saw users creating stages that went far beyond our expectations, so I felt reassured that we made a good decision

SY: I felt the same with LittleBigPlanet and Dreams. It’s nice to see players leveraging the games in ways that the creators never imagined, and sharing their creations with other gamers. Humanity’s UI is also very well designed. Stages with high user ratings and recommendations are showcased at the top, allowing users to quickly discover fun and interesting community-made content. 

The world of Humanity in PS VR2

SY: In my position, I must bring up the fact that the game is compatible with PS VR2. The team at Enhance has produced VR masterpieces such as Rez Infinite and Tetris Effect: Connected, so I imagine it was a familiar process for Mizuguchi-san. What was your impression of VR as a medium, Yugo?

YN: I enjoy VR so I have been playing around with it since the early days, but I had an impression that the majority of VR content was immersive first-person experiences. When Mizuguchi-san suggested trying out VR, I didn’t think it would be a good fit for this game, but there were so many discoveries when I gave it a try. I didn’t realize VR was capable of capturing extremely detailed 3D human movements in such high resolution. We were able to utilize VR in a unique way, where the player can watch over small crowds of people walking around in an elaborate diorama, as if you’re observing a swarm of ants.

TM: Most of the VR games I have worked on so far are immersive first-person experiences, but I had a feeling that Humanity would be interesting to play from a third-person perspective – sort of like Sim City where you can walk around and get a bird’s eye view of everything. At first, members of the team were a little skeptical, but when we tried it out, everyone agreed that it was a good idea. The development went smoothly from there.

SY: Performance, such as framerate, can be a concern on VR. Did you run into any issues around that?

YN: It was quite challenging optimizing for PS VR, but we had a lot of leeway with PS VR2. I think we were able to achieve the level of detail we were aiming for, with the resolution of the PS VR2.

Tetsuya Mizuguchi’s take on the potential of PS VR2

SY: As a developer, how do you feel about PS VR2 overall – not just limited to Humanity?

TM: Compared to the original PS VR, the overall quality has improved dramatically, and I think it is an amazing generational leap forward. As a developer, I’m particularly interested and see a lot of potential in the new eye tracking feature.

Also, you may think that we at Enhance are obsessed with haptics – well, we are haha – but we are interested in building experiences that involve haptics. In that sense, the inclusion of haptic feedback in the headset is very significant. What I found out when I created the Synesthesia Suit for Rez Infinite, for example, is that when there is distance, you can experience the world through the senses of your whole body. You can feel the sensation of objects passing by or the alternating beat of the music. What only existed in the palm of your hands is now extended to the headset, so there are so many new possibilities.

A perfect chemistry of puzzles and narrative that make it worth playing till the end

SY: It’s been five years since development started. How do you feel looking back?

YN: We were struggling the whole time basically (haha). I mentioned earlier that the game was an extension of an interactive design we worked on, and there were parts of the process that were exactly as we had imagined and parts that were completely unexpected. The basic aspects of development were what we had expected, but the process of refining the game to make it more fun and enjoyable was very unique.

Extensive playtesting and listening to various user feedback is common practice in the game industry. Even when there were opinions I thought were okay to ignore, we diligently repeated the process of resolving them. We would eliminate even the slightest stress, and the end result would be a game that is pleasant and comfortable to play, even if you can’t quite complete it.

SY: Indeed, there is no stress when playing Humanity. You can retry immediately if you fail, and it drops you right back into the middle of what you have been doing. I felt that the game was being accommodating to the user and made them feel comfortable during gameplay.Players from around the globe enjoyed the demo released in February, and now the full version is available as part of the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog.How do you feel about that?

YN: In one word, I am terrified! The content I usually produce lasts five to 15 minutes at most. With videos, I only need to grab the attention of the viewer for that short amount of time, so I can focus on that and make it happen. Games, however, can take up to several tens of hours, so I cannot help but wonder if our game is really worth that amount of players’ time. As the creator, I don’t have that much objective confidence, and because I’ve been a part of the game’s development for so long I can’t say I’m objective anymore.

SY: Do you have a message for those who haven’t played Humanity yet?

YN: There may be people who don’t enjoy puzzles or are not too fond of it as a game genre, but I hope people will see past that and give it a try. Of course the puzzles are fun, but I encourage gamers to jump in and play around as if it’s a playground; move the crowds in various ways and experiment by making them do different things. You’ll see a lot of interesting behaviors and results. We put work in creating a game that you won’t get tired of.

It is part of the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog, so if you are already a member, you can play it whenever you feel like it. I’ll be delighted if everyone could give it a try.

TM: Humanity is a game that delivers a whole new experience. If you ask me what genre it is, I would probably say it is a puzzle game. I think it is easy enough for anyone to pick up – from children to the elderly, even our parents’ generation. Everything that happens is a spectacle, and that alone is interesting, but I think the game is about experiencing the narrative, and immersing yourself in the story of Humanity. 

It’s a fun game that can be enjoyed on your own, or have family and friends with you helping to solve the puzzles. You can also treat it like a party game where everyone beats the game together. I hope players enjoy the game in their own way, and are able to witness the end that we prepared for them.

*Humanity is available now on PS4, PS5, PS VR, and PS VR2. It’s also included with the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog with PlayStation Plus Extra and PlayStation Plus Premium memberships.

In creating The Lord of the Rings: Gollum our motto has been to honor the way J. R. R. Tolkien looked at the richness of the world he had created, using his vision as a guidepost for our visual interpretation of his world.

Tolkien always wanted other artists to bring his writings to life and continue the creation of his great English myth. Of course, he didn’t have video games in mind back then. But his passion for meticulous detail, the history, languages, and names that he used to populate Middle-earth has always inspired our industry. Whether we realize it or not, all game creators owe a lot to Tolkien’s writings.

Following Gollum’s journey, we had the opportunity to explore parts of the world that we had never seen in such detail before. We started with everything we could find in the lore. Then we filled in the gaps with our own ideas and knowledge about the cultures and peoples who lived in these places.

For example, for the mighty fortress of Barad-dûr, we wanted to emphasize the huge scale and the stark contrast to our small hero. We imagined that the fortress was constantly expanding and changing. The builders could not keep up with the speed and size of their ever-growing walls and towers. Everything around the perfectly shaped main tower became increasingly chaotic.

One example is this service bridge that crosses the tower’s enormous moat, and that the builders probably meant to be straight:

While Mordor is an iconic and recognizable place with its dark volcanic rocks and reddish lights, designing Thranduil’s palace in Mirkwood was more challenging.

The contrast is intentional. While Mordor is spiky, Thranduil’s halls feature round shapes. While Barad-dûr tries to dominate and transform its environment, the Elvish buildings preserve and respect the shape of the mountain. It’s a harmonious interplay between architecture and nature. Welcoming instead of threatening. A place that repels Gollum but attracts Sméagol. Water, his native element, is everywhere and comes alive in different forms.

King Thranduil’s chambers were another fascinating place to create. The King likes to ride out at night and hunt under the stars. His rooms are decorated like a dreamy night forest, more symbolic than functional. The King’s bed is like a ceremonial boat on a river, where he only occasionally boards to have dreams and visions.

Working on this game has been both a great honor and a big responsibility. We felt a lot of excitement and nervousness when we started this adventure together. How would it all turn out? Would it feel right in the end? And we feel a similar excitement and nervousness now that we are about to share it with all of you.

We hope that our boundless passion for the world of Middle-earth shines through in all these little details, and hopefully, you will feel the same way once you have started your journey. 

See you soon, in the world of Middle-earth!

Building a PlayStation logo-themed stage

Using Humanity’s ultra-intuitive editor, you can let your imagination run wild. Whatever you’re in the mood for, a perplexing puzzle or a relaxing work of art, it’s easy to make it inside Humanity. The absolute best part is when you’re finished, you can share your creations with the world!

Get to know the Palette menu, which has everything you need to construct a stage. The basic building blocks of any level are…well, Blocks! To create the PlayStation stage you see here, we used the static (non-moving) and motorized (can be made to move along a pre-planned route) types, but many more options are available for your custom level. All you need are some Blocks, humans, and a Goal to send them to. If you have those three things, you’ve got yourself a working level! If you get stuck or need some help, the Stage Creator includes an extensive library of tutorial videos to assist you every step of the way. 

We’ll start by drawing the ‘S’ in the ‘PS’ logo. This will be the base for our puzzle. Next, we’ll create a pathway for the humans to walk on while avoiding the Others walking below and trying to stop us from collecting that precious Goldy. Finally, the ‘S’ snakes around and attaches to the back of a towering letter ‘P.’

That’s one giant PlayStation logo! 

Ahhhh, we forgot to add an essential piece! So, let’s bring up the Palette and drop in a Boulder. There, now it looks like it’s got a “registered” symbol. You didn’t see that one coming, huh? Get creative and don’t forget to have fun when designing your level!

Making a level fun to solve

Now that we’ve finished the basic design, we must add the puzzle aspects to the level. The humans will march along the S, climb the towering P and reach the three goals at the top. But wait, there’s a tricky part. Did you see that gold goal at the top? Use that cute Shiba Inu of yours, place commands, and escort your human flock with Goldy to the Goldy Goal. That’s no easy task, let me tell ya! Not only do you need to guide the Goldy in its own goal, but you’ll also need the humans flowing to the other two goals. You have to do all this and avoid the Others waiting to beat you down with their clubs.

Think you can finish our stage? With practice, I’m sure you can. The level is sitting in User Stages, waiting for you to take on the challenge:

“PlayStation Logo” Stage ID 001-157-8556. 

Once you beat it, you can rate and save it to your Favorites. It’s a five-star level for sure, right?

This PlayStation stage should illustrate just how flexible the editor is. If you’re a beginner, you can start much simpler. Here are a couple of tips:

• Not sure where to begin? Pick two mechanics in Humanity and mash them up. Pushable Blocks with Conveyor Belts. Fans with the Dog Switch. Climbable walls and water. Make a smaller puzzle and expand from there.
• Do your own take on a stage from Humanity’s Story Mode and remix/change some aspects of it.
• Pick a theme and see what you can design. Make a sculpture with the blocks and then design a puzzle afterward.

Bottom line—have fun. And don’t forget to share your stage with us, too! We are eager to see what people in the community can do with these tools.

You can get your hands on Humanity starting tomorrow, May 16, on PlayStation 5 or PlayStation 4. Play on your TV or optionally with PS VR2 or PS VR. The game is also part of the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog now available to PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium members.

Inspired by the Kaiju, or “Strange Beast,” film genre, the Kaiju Series features some of the most devastatingly effective MLB Legends and Superstars of the past and present, such as Monte Irvin, John Franco, and Corey Kluber.

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Kaiju Series Program

The Kaiju Series Program, available in Other Programs, is the perfect way to kick off your Season 2 Rewards Program and begin adding Kaiju Series players to your Diamond Dynasty squad. 

Play brand-new Moments and complete Missions spotlighting Kaiju Series Program players including Hunter Renfroe, Brandonw Lowe, Stephen Strasburg and Billy Williams. 

• Take on the three Kaiju Events starting today with “Kaiju, Part I” Then on May 19th, play the “Kaiju, Part II”, followed by the final “Kaiju, Part III” on May 25^th. 
• In Showdown mode, stand your ground against Showdown boss Stephen Strasburg to earn progress in the Kaiju Other Program. 
• In Conquest mode, complete the Kaiju Conquest Map to earn packs, Stubs, and progress.

Not only will completing each of these tasks provide you progress in the Kaiju Other Program, but they’ll also give you ample opportunity to earn XP towards the Season 2 XP Rewards Path.

Kaiju in Stadium Creator

Along with the monstrous amount of Kaiju content to play and rewards to earn, you can also find all-new Kaiju props in the Stadium Creator on current-gen consoles, including PlayStation 5. Create your stadium with imposing Kaiju looming directly behind the outfield walls. Combine these new Kaiju props with existing props such as the t-Rex, boats, or the UFO Mothership, among others, to create the ultimate Kaiju-inspired setting for your games to take place in.

More to come in Season 2

All of this Kaiju content, while undeniably cool, is just the tip of the iceberg for the new content available in Season 2 of Diamond Dynasty mode.

Play new content in Team Affinity 2 Programs with rewards for all 30 MLB clubs, new Mini Seasons challenges, earn rewards with your friends in the new Ranked Program and climb the leaderboards in co-op mode, complete new Collections for 99 overall bosses, as well as the mysterious Incognito Series that will all be headed your way in Season 2.

So, what are you waiting for? Now is the time to get in on the action in MLB The Show 23. See you on the field.

*Internet connection required for Season 2 update and rewards.

Let’s now look at how these new systems change the experience.

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Limited Order Battles

In the DLC, a new battle system is implemented to supplement the combat experience.

Limited Order battles are specific encounters that you’ll experience in Reunion of Memories and are tuned for higher level play to allow for deeper strategic gameplay. These battles have exceptional enemies with strong abilities that will need to be planned around for best results.   For an example of what Limited order battles are, let’s breakdown the battle with the Rear Admiral Barricade below.

In this battle, the Straw Hats must defeat Rear Admiral Barricade to succeed. The accompanying sailors do not need to be defeated to win.  In fact, any defeated sailors will result in Rear Admiral Barricade receiving a boost to his power.  If all sailors are defeated, the admiral will boost to an astronomical level of power and can make quick work of the Straw Hats. 

So how do we get past this? The straightforward solution is to focus solely on taking down the admiral.  However, the admiral is tough and the sailors will overwhelm the Straw Hats if left alone. Fortunately, the Straw Hats are well equipped for this issue as Brook, Nami, and more can incapacitate the sailors with abilities that can stun or confuse them.  But the obstacles don’t end there. As one more fun mechanic to the battle, the Straw Hats will be joined by an NPC ally that will not hesitate to defeat the sailors and boost the power of the admiral.  This “ally” can cause some chaos in any plan, making the battle more exciting.

This new system brings a refreshing change to the combat of Odyssey as the strategic decisions made in battle allow for a much bigger impact in the outcome of the fight.

Let’s now look at the narrative of Reunion of Memories and how the next system changes that experience.

Captain’s Selection

Reunion of Memories also adds a branching storyline system to improve the narrative experience.

Over the course of the story, there will be several points where the system will prompt you to make a story choice between two options. Your choice may be able to steer the Straw Hats away from danger or straight into it for the bold and the daring.

In this situation here, the Straw Hats are looking to save the mayor of Water Seven and they can go about it in two ways:  Save the workers and ask for their help or take the back streets to the mayor’s house.  In this case, both choices will lead to a battle but the foes that you will face will be different. 

The Captain’s Selection system strengthens the narrative of Reunion of Memories by empowering the player to interact with the story for a deeper level of immersion.

Reunion of Memories comes out May 25 on PS5 and PS4.  Come join the Straw Hats for a new and different way to experience One Piece Odyssey.

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In a change to previous years, the seven-round Nations Cup Online Series will run in a consecutive block with Round 7 taking place on June 3. The Manufacturers Cup will follow, with Round 1 on June 7 and the final round on July 1 

The results of the Online Series will determine which players will be invited to the two live events of the 2023 Series, the World Series Showdown in Amsterdam (August 11-12) and the World Finals, which will take place in early December at a venue to be announced. 

In 2022, a thrilling World Finals in Monaco ended with Subaru and Toyota tied on points in the Manufacturers Cup, but the trophy was awarded to Subaru’s Daniel Solis (USA), Takuma Miyazono (JPN) and Kylian Drumont (FRA) thanks to their victory in the final race. 

The Nations Cup was no less hotly contested with points tied at the top. This time it was popular Spaniard, and World Series veteran, Coque López who was crowned champion having taken the race victory after an incident-packed last lap. Chilean Angel Inostroza was second while Brazil’s Igor Fraga, the inaugural World Champion in 2018, took the final podium place. 

A change to the Nations Cup format in 2023 sees the Showdown and World Finals contested as a team event, like the Manufacturers Cup, with three drivers from the same country competing for the title. 

“It is always exciting when a new Gran Turismo World Series gets underway,” commented Kazunori Yamauchi, Producer of the Gran Turismo series. “Each year we see incredible battles among our established stars, but there is always some new talent bursting onto the scene at the top level. 

As well as the Gran Turismo World Series, 2023 will also see the Olympic Esports Series gathering top players from around the world in Singapore at the end of June. Another exciting milestone this year will be the release of a Gran Turismo film in August, around the time of our Amsterdam Showdown event, that celebrates the success of the Nissan PlayStation GT Academy programme. 

“In an echo of GT Academy, we’ll enjoy watching our 2018 Gran Turismo World Series Champion, Igor Fraga, racing in the Super GT 300 class and Super Formula Lights in Japan this year. He’ll be busy, but we still expect to see him take on the World Series as well, having finished third in the Nations Cup last year.” 

Michelin, Toyota Gazoo Racing (TGR), Genesis, Mazda, Brembo, Sony Alpha and BBS continue their support as official partners of the Gran Turismo World Series. 

The Gran Turismo World Series is open to all players with any PS Plus membership for the online rounds through Sport mode in Gran Turismo 7. The Online Series is organised into a league format with three leagues determined by Driver Ratings, so that players compete in races against opponents of a similar level. Qualification for the World Series Showdown and World Finals is subject to terms and conditions which can be found on the Gran Turismo website. 

In addition to the Gran Turismo World Series, the Toyota Gazoo Racing GT Cup is already underway. Seven online qualifying rounds will finish on August 27 and the finals will again be staged alongside the Gran Turismo World Series Finals at the end of the year.

For the first time since Sydney in early 2020, Gran Turismo fans will have the chance to watch the Gran Turismo World Series live and in person at both the Showdown event in Amsterdam and the World Finals. Keep an eye on gran-turismo.com and the Gran Turismo social channels to find out how to get tickets.  

* Internet connection and PS Plus membership are required for entry

Early days of development

Meanwhile, we were working hard in the Netherlands – some of us making Game Boy Color games. We were called Lost Boys, we were scrappy, maybe flying by the seat of our pants a little, but we were also ambitious. So, when the opportunity came up to create these new experiences that push boundaries and steer the industry, we grabbed it with both hands.

It was a time of experimentation, and it was exciting to be at the forefront of innovative, interactive technology. I think it’s clear that’s still in our DNA – in Decima, especially.

As Guerrilla, we made a lot of work for ourselves right off the bat, creating 3D immersive games with Shellshock: Nam ‘67 and Killzone. Unexpectedly, our small studio was quickly catapulted to the global stage. Killzone’s gritty galactic war captured the imagination of gamers, and we were proud of having made a mark in the industry and having developed a first-person shooter for Sony.

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It wasn’t long until we jumped to work on the sequel. By this time, consoles were taking the world by storm, and PS2 players especially. By that point, we knew what we were doing a little bit more, and Killzone 2 raised the quality bar for us. It’s nice to see it considered a ‘classic’ of that generation – even if it makes me feel a little old reading that back.

Around when the PlayStation 3 console was launching, we became a first-party studio for Sony. They were really supportive of our creative visions, and their new technology was, as always, best-in-class. We experimented with the latest tech, like the PlayStation Move motion controllers, and we expanded the world of Killzone into handheld experiences.

This period was truly one of growth for us at Guerrilla in every sense. We navigated what it meant to be a first-party studio for Sony, growing and having visibility on the global stage. We were regularly producing games. They were popular. But it only pushed us into wanting to spread our creative wings, staying true to the motivation of our early years.

A new generation for Guerrilla

By the time we released Killzone Shadow Fall (2013) for the PS4, we were at a turning point. We had been developing Killzone successfully for almost ten years, and putting that aside was obviously a little scary. But we were feeling the itch to do something new, unlike anything we’d done before.

The whole story of how Horizon came to be is (flatteringly) covered in a Noclip documentary. Essentially, we opened the floor to the team. We asked the team what they wanted to make.

We knew it had to be incredible, stunning, and hopeful. Horizon itself really came from a visual idea of these primitive tribes, fighting to survive in a lush landscape dominated by great machines, long after the collapse of our current civilization. And we wanted an iconic franchise-worthy protagonist. The pitch had all of that. But the details of the story came later.

When production ended, even though we were proud of what we were creating with Horizon Zero Dawn, we all felt that sort of anxiety. Once you show it to the world, will people like it? Will they hate it?

The first sign that we might really have something was when Hermen Hulst (then managing director of Guerrilla, now head of PlayStation Studios) revealed the first trailer.

Let’s imagine this: E3 in 2015. Behind the scenes, we had been secretly working on Horizon Zero Dawn for several years – but now we were going to show it to the world. As we were waiting in line to get into the 5000-seat hall where PlayStation events were held, I turned to Hermen and said, “What if it doesn’t work? What if the whole idea of cave people fighting robot dinosaurs is just too silly?”

Hermen looked at me with a big grin and as he stepped into the event hall said, “Well, too late to worry about that!”

As the trailer played, we were glued to the live reaction – and totally floored by the passionate response.

Since Horizon Zero Dawn, our journey with Aloy has grown. With Forbidden West, we looked at every aspect of the first game and improved it. I think you can see that hard work in the excitement from fans since the launch. But during production, we were growing so much as a team and as a studio.

At one point, it was pretty clear we’d outgrown our beloved, almost-collapsing, canal-house office on the Herengracht; we had to have two diesel generators craned in because the building’s infrastructure just couldn’t support all our machines as well as air conditioning.

Growing into a positive future

Our studio’s grown from those early scrappy days to a massive group of hundreds of talented developers. And with us, the world of Horizon has also grown. Players have come face-to-face with our awe-inspiring machines in VR with Call of the Mountain. Comic books and board games are expanding the world. It’s truly humbling.

Of course, we can’t overlook the significant impact that our dedicated community has had on our games, studio, and people over the years. Guerrilla wouldn’t be where it is today without the support of our players.

As of April 16, 2023, the Horizon franchise has sold through more than 32.7 million units worldwide, of which Horizon Forbidden West has sold through over 8.4 million units. Millions more around the world have discovered Horizon thanks to PlayStation’s subscription services and initiatives, including PlayStation Plus, and Play at Home. All told, it’s a milestone we never imagined possible twenty years ago when we first started making games.

This reception has been staggering, and we’re grateful to the community for the continued love and support for the franchise. We Guerrillas feel lucky to witness that support every day: we share community fanart and the cosplay. I want you all to know we are completely blown away by your enthusiasm.

Last of all, I’d like to share that we are so excited that Aloy’s adventures will continue. Her latest mission takes her to the ruins of Los Angeles in Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores, and we can’t wait for you to find out where she’ll go next.

Thank you for being on this incredible journey with us for the past 20 years. Here’s to the next 20!

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

PS5 Games

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

PS4 Games 

*Naming of products may differ between regions

PS VR 2 Games*

 *PS Store purchases only. Game upgrades or games bundled with hardware not included

PSVR Games 

Free to Play (PS5 + PS4)