If rumors prove to be true in thatGod of War, Spider-Man and Horizon Zero Dawnsequels all releasing in 2021, thesepresumed-exclusives could give PS5 a very strong startto a first year and a quick take-off from launch which overcomes the dilemma of slow launches during the early period of a console’s life cycle.
Rumors are swirling in regards to these three games, with renowned journalist Imran Khan stating a newSpider-Mangame is not far off, Santa Monica Studios teasing the nextGod of Wargame, and a recent job posting by Guerrilla Games confirmingHorizon Zero Dawn 2.
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God of War Sequel
God of Warwould be nothing short of being a massively huge title to get PS5 high off the ground. The previous game, a soft reboot of the series simply titledGod of War, obtained universal acclaim among critics and fans alike, and won Game of the Year at the Game Awards in 2018.
To put it simply,God of Warsold PS4 consoles, and, as expected, a sequel would most likely be hailed as a “console-seller” for the PS5. In aTweet from one of SIE Santa Monica Studios' Kim Newman, a narrative animator, a photograph of her wearing motion-capture devices reads, “Feels good to be back in the suit.”
It could represent solid evidence ofGod of War’snext game. However, there is a chance it may not as well. While there was also another cryptic Tweet which Cory Barlog posted back in November to tease a new game, it does not necessarily mean it isGod of Warand may even be anew game from theGod of Warstudio calledLegendz.
In a recent interview withGod of War’sDirector, Cory Barlog, he stated that he would like to take the game’s story deeper into the re-visitation ofKratos and Faye’s first meetingand their relationship that developed thereafter.
Spider-Man Sequel
Though information onSpider-Man’snext game seems a little more concrete in Khan’s statement that theSpider-Man 2is set for release during “Christmas 2021”, it is important to remember that he is not an official representative of the company or people behind the game. It does hold some weight, given he stated with a tone of high-confidence that he knows “too much about this.”
Furthermore, game director Bryan Intihar teased a Venom and the Symbiote suit for a sequel to be released in the future, and Reddit user v17447377 also statedSpider-Man 2will release in the holiday 2021 season. Though this source is nowhere close to concrete, it would not be the first time legitimate leaks from Reddit and 4chan surfaced. If the leaker is credible, though, the story will comprise Peter Parker training Miles Morales and feature an OsCorp “cloning” plot with a diverse array of different villains. The post also claims that some ofSpider-Man 2’svillainswill include Cardiac, Carnage, Green Goblin, the Lizard, Mysterio, and Venom, and that it will include gameplay mechanics similar toDiablo, which will form randomly generated crimes and encounters.
Furthermore, one of thecutscenes at the end ofSpider-Manfeatures Norman Osborn making a return to the secret lab that Mary Jane mentioned at an earlier point in the game. Inside the lab, Norman opens the tank with Harry’s body suspended inside, connected to the equipment that presumably may create Venom. This is in sync with the Reddit leak which claims that Venom will be a feature villain in a sequel, along with the other enemies.
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If rumors prove to be true,Spider-Man’ssequel would also provide considerable steam for PS5’s first year following its planned launch. Released in 2018,Spider-Manwas praised for its amazing graphical capabilities and unique boss fights, as well as a very solid storyline, and currently holds an 87/100 on Metacritic.
To date,Spider-Manhas sold an impressive 9 million copies worldwide, and about 3 million of those, or one-third, were sold in the first three days following its release. Furthermore,Spider-Manwas the fastest-selling game in 2018 in the United Kingdom, and was even one of the most best-selling Western-developed titles in Japan that year. Overall,Spider-Manwas the number one best selling exclusive titlefor PS4 as of September of last year.
Horizon Zero Dawn
The first rumor of aHorizon Zero Dawnsequel emerged early last year, when voice actor Janina Gavinkar, the voice of characters such as Tatai in The Frozen Wilds DLC for Horizon Zero Dawn, stated to a fan thatHorizon Zero Dawn’ssequel is going to be even betterthan the first game.
Around the same time last year, aPastebin post aboutHorizon: Zero Dawn, discovered on the internet, supposedly from a third-party European developer, claimsHorizon: Zero Dawn 2could be released in 2021. Finally, in late 2019, Guerrilla Games posted several job listings, including a Technical Vegetation Artist.
Much of the details in these posts resemble the game’s setting, including one posting in specific which mentions the “world of Horizon” as central to the job description. While everything else is open for multiple possibilities, the “world of Horizon” is fairly direct, and could be concrete evidence that the sequel is in the works.
AHorizon: Zero Dawnsequel on PS5 would also give the new console a huge jumpstart, given that the original game’s unique setting, comprised of fighting robotic dinosaurs roaming Earth’s post-apocalyptic future, was a particularly strong stand-out. By February 2018,Horizon: Zero Dawnhad sold 7.6 millioncopies world wide.
Horizon: Zero Dawnalso won the Gold Prize and Users Choice Prize at the 2017 PlayStation Awards. Additionally, it won Best PS4 Game, Best Story and Best PlayStation Console Exclusive, among other awards, at PlaSstation Blog’s Game of the Year Awards.
WhileGod of Waralone can sell systems, as well asHorizon: Zero Dawnto a degree,Spider-Manstill stands as an astounding technological achievement for traversing open-world environments and an incredibly solid game. All three of these games releasing in the same year could prove to be the powerhouse PS5 needs to consolidate much success in selling consoles during its first year.
It is well known that strong third party support is what sells consoles and provides their overall lifeline, but it is exclusives that make the difference in competition in differentiating one console from the other. With Xbox Series X also releasing around the same time later this year, and also promising a strong-lineup ofexclusives within Xbox Series X’s first year, with the release of exclusive titles every few months, PS5 will need to maintain strong pace in order to maintain healthy competition between these two console manufacturers, Microsoft and Sony.
If the rumors prove to be true,Spider-Man,God of WarandHorizon: Zero Dawn, coupled with any other exclusives geared for release during the PS5’s first year, will certainly keep PS5’s lineup of exclusive titles strong and fresh as PS5’s first year appears to be off to a healthy start.
