Summary
The next generation of gaming began in 2020 when the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S were released. While it was hard to get ahold of these consoles thanks to factory delays due to the pandemic, the industry has mostly recovered since. Both consoles boast a wide variety of games from first and third-party developers.
However, some big names have yet to put anything out on these consoles. What have they been up to in the past few years? Will their next big project be announced any day now? Maybe the Switch 2 has held up some pipelines. Whatever the case may be, let us look down the rabbit hole and figure out what could be going on.
8Sony Bend
From Spies To Zombies
Sony Bend has gone through several names over its long history with PlayStation consoles. For example, they were known as Eidetic when they made theSyphon Filterseries. Their last game wasDays Gonein 2019 and they haven’t put out anything yet beyond updatingDays Goneto work better on the PS5 but that wasn’t a full re-release worth noting. In 2022 they updated their logo and that’s the most news that has come out of Sony Bend. Sometimes it can take them a while to a project off the ground. For example, there was a big gap betweenDays Gonein 2019 and their previous game on the PS Vita,Uncharted: Fight for Fortune, which was released in 2012.
7Sora Ltd.
A Legend In The Fighting Game Community
Sora Ltd. is the company that Masahiro Sakurai set up from Hal Laboratory to specifically makeKid Icarus: Uprising. It then became the studio responsible for theSuper Smash Bros.games withSuper Smash Bros. Ultimatebeing the studio’s last release in 2018. Behind the scenes, they were updating that game up until 2021 with the last major character release beingSora fromKingdom Hearts. DLC is hardly a big movement though, so fans have been wondering what is next for Sora Ltd. and Masahiro Sakurai. Will he make anotherSuper Smash Bros.game like for the Switch 2 or will he return to Kid Icarus once again?
6Compulsion Games
Down On The Bayou
Compulsion Games existed as an independent third-party developer before Microsoft bought them in 2018. Their first game was a PS4 launch title,Contrast, which was a puzzle game that used shadows and the art of perspective well. 2018 was also the year that they put outWe Happy Fewwhich was made in the style of something likeBioShock. In 2023, their next game,South of Midnight, was announced.
There was an update earlier in 2024 that teased gameplay and advertised a 2025 launch. That is more than other examples on here but as the game has yet to be released, it’s unknown if it will make that 2025 date. After all, when it comes toXbox exclusives, they tend to have a lot of delays or even cancelations.
5GenDesign
An Epic Return For This Creator
Fumito Ueda is the legendary director who helmed the projects ofIcoandShadow of the Colossuson the PS2. His next game within Sony studios wasThe Last Guardianwhich was announced in 2009. There was a lot of trouble behind the scenes with that production as itshifted focus from the PS3 to the PS4and wouldn’t launch until 2016. In 2014, in the middle of all that chaos, Ueda set up his GenDesign studio. In 2020, the company signed a deal with Epic Games who promised to help fund GenDesign’s next project. Said project has yet to be revealed and it’s almost been a decade sinceThe Last Guardianwas released.
4Monolith Productions
From Lords To Lasses
Monolith Productions began with creating such hits as theF.E.A.R.shooter franchise. They then shifted to action games with arguably their biggest hits beingMiddle-earth: Shadow of MordorandMiddle-earth: Shadow of War. The latter game was released in 2017 for the last generation of consoles. In 2021, there was a teaser trailer announcing the company was working on a Wonder Woman game with just a CG model of the titular heroine. Since then, no other news has come of the project other than it is still in production.
3Irrational Games/Ghost Story Games
Don’t Be Shocked By This Developer’s Bio
Irrational Games was the studio that largely developedtheBioShockfranchise. The big lead behind those games, most notably forBioShock Infinite, was Ken Levine. Shortly afterBioShock Infinitewas released in 2013, Levine restructured the studio as Ghost Story Games and their first project was a mystery until 2022.
That’s the first timeJudaswas showcased and it has since been demoed to members of the press as of 2024. The expected date forJudasis 2025, but knowing how long Levine and his team took forBioShock Infinite, another delay could happen.
2Quantic Dream
From Creative Adventure Game Developer To A Publisher
Quantic Dream became a big deal when they releasedHeavy Rainon the PS3 although it was not their first game. It was an advancement in the way adventure games were being told by taking away the classicpoint-and-click narrative style. Also, the branching story made it so players would want to test different routes. FollowingHeavy Rainin 2009 wasBeyond: Two Soulsin 2013 and thenDetroit: Become Humanin 2018. In 2021, they announced they were making an adventure-basedStar Warsgame with a slick trailer calledStar Wars Eclipse. Now, while they haven’t developed and released anything sinceDetroit: Become Humaninternally, they have published a couple of games includingUnder the Wavesin 2023 and Dustborn which will release soon. Publishing is not quite the same thing as developing though, so where is Star Wars Eclipse?
1The Initiative
A Long Awaited Return For Joanna Dark
The Initiative was founded by Microsoft in 2018. Their sole purpose was to make a newPerfect Darkgame and the last new one of those was in 2005,Perfect Dark Zero, for the Xbox 360. The rebrandedPerfect Darksequel was teased in 2020 with a recent trailer being released in 2024. Crystal Dynamics is apparently co-developing the project which might be either a good or bad thing. Two studios trying to create one vision has not always worked in the past although Activision has made it work for theCall of Dutyseriesfor over a decade now. There is no set date forPerfect Darkbut presumably, it will be an Xbox Series X/S exclusive.
