New Astro Bot Game Seemingly in Development at PlayStation
A new Astro Bot game for PS5 is likely in the works.
It looks like a new game tied to PlayStation's Astro Bot series is in the works for PlayStation 5. Back in 2013, Astro Bot first made its debut as part of The Playroom, which was a free experience for PlayStation 4 that allowed users to test out the PlayStation Camera accessory. Later in 2018, Astro Bot received its first standalone game in Astro Bot Rescue Mission on PlayStation VR headsets. Most recently, to coincide with the launch of the PS5, Astro's Playroom then came as a pack-in game to highlight the various functions of the new DualSense controller. Now, it seems like another Astro Bot title of some sort is happening within PlayStation, although the nature of this game is still unknown.
Spotted by Gematsu, PlayStation recently filed a new trademark for Astro Bot in Europe on August 25. This trademark is only for the "Astro Bot" name alone and isn't associated with a specific game title. Still, the fact that Sony has re-upped this trademark for the Astro Bot character and franchise seems to suggest that there is something happening internally that PlayStation fans aren't yet privy to.
Generally speaking, it's not surprising whatsoever to see that PlayStation has larger plans for Astro Bot moving forward. In 2021, Sony shuttered much of Japan Studio and merged its remaining employees with Team Asobi, which is the developer behind the Astro Bot franchise. When this move was made, it indicated that Team Asobi would likely play a bigger role for PlayStation in the years of head, assumedly with Astro Bot. Now that this trademark has been filed, it seems like a proper announcement tied to a new game could happen at any point.
When Could a New Astro Bot Game Release?
In all likelihood, if a new Astro Bot were to launch on PS5, a 2024 release window would make a lot of sense. Currently, Sony hasn't highlighted much of what it will be releasing beyond this year. Games like Death Stranding 2, Fairgames, Marvel's Wolverine, and Rise of the Ronin are known to be arriving in 2024 and beyond, but outside of this handful of titles, PlayStation has yet to provide much guidance on what its various studios are doing.
Perhaps the most interesting thing about a new Astro Bot title potentially coming about would be the nature of the game itself. Naturally, a sequel to Astro Bot Rescue Mission on PlayStation VR2 would be the most feasible given that Sony likely wants to support its new headset in a larger way moving forward. Then again, a game in the style of Astro's Playroom could also happen given the acclaim that the PS5 launch title received. Either way, there's a high chance that we'll learn more from PlayStation on what's happening with Astro Bot soon enough.
