PlayStation Shifts Focus to Family-Friendly Games After Astro Bot Success

Sony's plans to develop more family-friendly games are fueled by the remarkable success of Astro Bot. Read on to discover more about Astro Bot's achievements and PlayStation's potential revival of legacy IPs.

PlayStation Expands into the Family Genre

Astro Bot Surpasses 1.5 Million Copies Sold

Since its September 2024 release, Astro Bot has enjoyed phenomenal success, selling over 1.5 million copies and earning the coveted Game of the Year award at The Game Awards 2024. This success has spurred PlayStation to further explore the family-friendly gaming market.

During Sony's Q3 Earnings Announcement on February 13, 2025, President, CEO, and CFO Hiroki Totoki discussed Astro Bot's impact and future plans. He highlighted its four Game Awards 2024 wins, including Game of the Year and Best Family Game, alongside Helldivers 2's wins for Best Ongoing Game and Best Multiplayer Game. Totoki emphasized these wins as significant steps in broadening PlayStation's game portfolio, particularly in family-friendly and live-service titles.

PlayStation's Family-Friendly History

PlayStation boasts a rich history of family-friendly titles, though many haven't seen recent installments. As noted by The Gamer, franchises like Sly Cooper, Ape Escape, and Jak and Daxter have lacked new entries for over a decade. Furthermore, the acquisition of Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon by Xbox leaves Ratchet & Clank and LittleBigPlanet, along with the recent Astro Bot, as PlayStation's primary family-focused franchises in recent years.

In a December 2024 interview with Famitsu, PlayStation Studios CEO Hermen Hulst underscored Astro Bot's significance to Sony, calling it "very, very important" and praising the small team's achievement in creating such a celebrated game, representing the best of PlayStation.

The Return of Legacy IPs?

Astro Bot's inclusion of various PlayStation characters, reviving dormant IPs, hints at future possibilities. Hulst previously highlighted PlayStation's extensive IP portfolio as a valuable asset, emphasizing ongoing exploration of legacy IP and new franchise development.

The recent Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater trailer features the return of Ape Escape monkeys, previously seen in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater's mini-game. Sly Cooper's success on PlayStation Plus' Classics Catalog, achieving high ratings on the PlayStation Store, further suggests a potential resurgence of these classic franchises. While no official announcements have been made, this suggests PlayStation may revisit its family-friendly legacy IPs.

New Astro Bot Content Arriving February 13, 2025

Five New Levels and Special Bots

A free update for Astro Bot launches February 13, 2025. In a February 13, 2025 PlayStation.Blog post, Team Asobi Studio Director Nicolas Doucet revealed exciting new content.

Five new levels, including one from the PlayStation XP Tournament Final in London, will be added to the Vicious Void Galaxy:

• February 13: Tick-Tock Shock
• February 20: Thrust or Bust
• February 27: Cock-A-Doodle-Doom
• March 6: Hard to Bear
• March 13: Armored Hardcore

These updates, released every Thursday at 6:00 AM PT, 2:00 PM GMT, and 10:00 PM JST, will feature challenging levels, new Special Bots to rescue, and Time Attack mode with online rankings. PS5 Pro players will also enjoy a 60fps experience.

Astro Bot is available exclusively on PlayStation 5. Visit our Astro Bot page for more information.