The PlayStation 5 event kicked off today, providing the gaming community with an in-depth look at the games that are set to be on the upcoming console. In addition to some exciting new properties, the PS5 is expected to include some tried-and-true favorites — including a new entry into the Ratchet & Clank franchise. During the event, it was announced that an entirely new Ratchet & Clank game, called Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, will be an exclusive on the upcoming PS5. The title will once again be developed by Insomniac Games, and it appears to feature an all-new character, following some time-travelling shenanigans.
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This will be the first Ratchet & Clank game in several years, with the most recent title being 2016’s remaster of the original 2002 game. That release was tied to the Ratchet & Clank animated movie, which debuted that same year to poor critical reception.
Rumors surrounding a new Ratchet & Clank game — as well as whether it would be a PS5 exclusive — have been floating around for quite a while now. In February of this year, it was hinted that a new game would be released from Insomniac Games before the company ultimately publishes Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. Today’s event also revealed the existence of Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, so it appears that Insomniac has been quite busy!
“We like what they’ve been doing in the Spider-Man franchise and things like Ratchet & Clank are certainly vital series in the present and future,” former Worldwide Studios boss Shawn Layden also told The Hollywood Reporter in 2019. “That’s what we’re concentrating on.”
While the franchise has been around for nearly two decades, it reportedly was initially a far cry from what it ultimately became. As Insomniac CEO Ted Price said in 2018, the game was a sort of “Hail Mary” for the studio, with the two titular characters initially taking a different shape.
“He was a lizard, at one point,” Price explained at the time. “He was sort of a ‘Marvin the Martian’ guy, which, I think, was sort of the original inspiration, and then [Ratchet] became a furry, fox-like character.”
“Clank was originally three robots who would cling to different parts of Ratchet’s body,” Price added.
What do you think of the first trailer for Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
