Spider-Man 2, Project Q handheld headline PlayStation Showcase

Sony reveals a raft of new PS5 titles including Bungie's new Marathon and the debut offerings from acquisitions Haven Studios and Firewalk Studios

News by Brendan Sinclair Managing Editor

Published on May 24, 2023

Sony today aired its PlayStation Showcase 2023 on its Twitch and YouTube channels. The hour-long show culminated with a look at Sony's new dedicated remote streaming device Project Q, and an extended trailer for Spider-Man 2.

The Project Q handheld will have an 8-inch HD screen and allow remote play over wifi from the PS5. Sony also announced its PlayStation-branded Bluetooth earbuds for PS5 and PC, with further details on both products to come.

As for Spider-Man 2, the clip covered a bit more of the game's story than had been seen before and a lengthy gameplay segment including Insomniac's take on villains like Kraven the Hunter, The Lizard, and Venom (or at least the black-and-white alien symbiote suit). The game is set for release this fall.

Before all that, the show opened with a cinematic trailer for Haven Studios' debut title Fairgame$, showing competing teams of three trying to break into a corporation's vault.

Three people in monkey masks in a cloud of purple smoke stand over three others on the ground in a shot from the Fairgame$ trailer — Fairgame$ is a multiplayer heist game

That was followed by a Starship Troopers-esque propaganda commercial for Arrowhead's Helldivers 2, a team-based shooter where players take on insect-like aliens throughout the galaxy as part of a "peacekeeping" force spreading democracy. The game is set for release this year on PC and PS5.

Cruel Man Studio's samurai action title Phantom Blade 0 was shown off with plenty of parkour-inspired traversal and some over-the-top enemies including one wielding a tool straight out of Master of the Flying Guillotine. The game was billed as "coming to PS5."

Giant Squid's next game Sword of the Seas was also debuted. It features a caped character using a sword-like skateboard as they traverse a Journey-like desert, complete with flying dragon-like creatures.

Nomada Studio also had a look at its next game, Neva with a cartoon art style in the trailer showing a swordswoman and two antler-bearing wolves fighting a horde of shadow monsters. The game is being published by Devolver.

Square Enix's anime-styled team-based shooter Foamstars will doubtlessly draw comparisons to Splatoon

Konami showed off Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater with a cinematic trailer that was mostly swamp creatures hunting and eating each other before panning over to show Snake's face. Additionally, the publisher has a Metal Gear Solid 1 Master Collection on the way, with each of the first three games in the series.

Dreamlit's Towers of Aghasba was featured with a trailer suggesting an open-world adventure with more than a little bit of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom-style paragliding and foraging action.

While Alan Wake was a Microsoft franchise in the past, Remedy showed off Alan Wake 2 (made in cooperation with Epic Games) during Sony's showcase. The game is set for release October 17.

Finji showed off Revenant Hill, the first title from The Glory Society, the worker co-op formed by key developers on Night in the Woods. The trailer said little, other than to show a few characters (a girl, a cat, a skeleton) and a tagline of "Rise Together."

Capcom showed off Dragon's Dogma 2 with a trailer showcasing a return of the open-world fantasy action game, along with some staples of the series like clinging onto a gryphon to attack in mid-flight.

A PSVR 2 section of the event included looks at Capcom's zombie action game Resident Evil 4 VR Mode, Vertigo Games' zombie shooter Arizona Sunshine 2 (coming this year), Smilegate's shooter Crossfire: Sierra Squad, nDreams' shooter Synapse (July 4), and Beat Saber's Queen Music Pack (available now).

A person in a helmet reaches toward a brightly glowing geometric shape. A neon green bar along the right side of the image says "Marathon" — Bungie didn't race to revisit Marathon, a series it last released a game from in the mid-'90s.

Bungie's remake of Marathon brought the developer back to its roots, and the latest vision of the franchise looks a lot more neon and bright than the universe of Destiny, but the cinematic trailer suggested it would not stray too far from the shooter work the studio has focused on for decades.

The studio also teased Destiny: The Final Shape, with more to come about that on August 22.

Jim Ryan also unveiled Sony's new dedicated streaming device, Project Q, which features a 9-inch HD screen. Sony also has wireless earbuds on the way, with more details on both products to come soon.

Other 2023 offerings featured in the showcase: