PS1 Series Officially Returning Next Month as PS5 Exclusive

August 10, 2026, 12:59pm

A series PlayStation fans were first introduced to on the PS1, and haven’t seen since the PSP, is officially returning next month, and returning as a PS5 console exclusive. A console exclusive, for those that do not know, refers to a game only available on a single console platform. In this case, the platform is PS5. Meanwhile, the other non-console platform is PC. In other words, the nostalgic series is returning with a new release on PC and PS5 on September 17.

Videos by ComicBook.com

More specifically, Japanese developer Chime Corporation and Japanese publisher Good Smile Company have announced that they are releasing Patlabor the Case Files on the aforementioned platforms on the aforementioned date, bringing back a series not seen since 2005 in the process. This release was first announced back in March, but now there is a release date. There is also word that the game will cost $34.99 when it releases. Meanwhile, in Japan only, there will be a physical release.

For those who do not know, Patlabor is actually an anime that debuted in 1988 and ran to 1994. In the 90s and early 2000s, in particular, it had many adaptations, including various video games. The first game in the series was released in 1989 for the Family Computer Disk System. This was followed by a release on Game Boy, then another release on the Sega Mega Drive, then another on the PC Engine Super CD-ROM, and then another on the SNES. Finally, in 2000, the series debuted on PlayStation, via the PS1 and a game called Kidō Keisatsu Patlabor: Game Edition. After this, there was one more release in 2005 called Patlabor: Come Back Mini-Pato. None of these games were ever released outside of Japan, so this new release will be the first to be released in the West.

A 3D Action Game

As for the new game itself, it is pitched as a 3D action game. In it, you play as a Patlabor, a special robotic unit in the Tokyo Metropolitan Police designed to combat robot crime, which is on the rise as more and more robots leave their lives of industrial use behind. In other words, you are a robot fighting other robots.

While the trailer above is partially in Japanese, it will support English. Meanwhile, there will also be 72-hour early access that begins on September 14 for those who pre-order the Deluxe Edition of the game, which is $5 more at $40. And that is all this version comes with, other than the game’s original soundtrack, which is also exclusive to this pricier version of the PS5 and PC game. Right now, there is no word of a PS4 version, and there is no word of PS5 Pro enhancements, both of which seem unlikely at this point.