Another big PS4 game exclusive for 2019? (Image: SONY)
Sony’s strategy of developing story-based single-player adventures for its PlayStation consoles has been proven a massive success.
It was recently revealed that a swathe of PS4 exclusive titles have been nominated at the 2019 DICE Awards.
This includes titles like God of War and Marvel’s Spider-Man, two games that have already received widespread critical acclaim.
These are just two examples of what Sony has been working on for the past few years, providing AAA exclusive games that are not available on Nintendo Switch, PC, or Xbox One.
Exclusive games are not the only reason for strong console sales – which have now been confirmed to have reached 91.6 million by the end of 2018 – but they’re certainly great advertisements for what is available on your system.
And new reports this week suggest that a massive PS4 game exclusive is being primed for launch in the coming months, while Sony is also working on some other secret projects.
There have now been multiple leaks and reports that suggest that The Last of Us Part 2 will be released in 2019.
PS4 news this week includes a series of Tweets from journalist Alanah Pearce, now deleted, which state that the game has a 2019 launch in mind.
It came with a secondary note that the final release date could change or be delayed, as this is something that happens a lot in the gaming industry.
And this isn’t the first time that The Last of Us 2 has been linked with a launch this year.
PS4 gamers might remember a recent retail leak that listed TLOU2 arriving in early 2019.
Last year also saw PlayStation Music share the soundtrack from the new game on its official YouTube channel, as part of the Outbreak Day celebrations.
Every year on September 26, Naughty Dog hold Last of Us community celebrations, as well as share new deals in association with the franchise.
This year saw the soundtrack released, along with a description
New music from the game is currently available to listen to on YouTube on the PlayStation Music channel.
And when it was first posted, it included a reference to 2019 in the official headline.
“Music from The Last of Us Part II (2019) published by Sony Interactive Entertainment,” the headline originally read.
Sony is upgrading the PlayStation Network (Image: SONY)
Until Sony PlayStation announces the release date of The Last of Us Part 2, we won’t know for sure if this latest information is true or not.
So until then, it’s worth taking everything with a healthy pinch of salt.
While we can’t be sure what exactly Sony is planning for their new exclusive PS4 games, we do know they are hard at work in other areas.
From a string of recent job listings, it appears Sony is working on some important next-gen projects.
The company are currently looking for a new Staff Software Engineer, which, according to the listing, will be working towards upgrading the current PlayStation Network.
Not only this but it sounds like they’re preparing for a big leap in the future.
The job listing confirms that the role will be handling both old and new services, which will be part of the “The next generation data platform.”
The Last of Us Part 2 arriving on PS4 this year? (Image: SONY)
The listing reads: “This is a high-visibility technical leadership position with Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) platform engineering organisation to establish a highly available, fault-tolerant, globally distributed data platform and services.
“The next generation data platform serves the global, fast-growing PlayStation Network customer base.
“This key role will lead the technology transformation of the network data platform including existing and new services supporting the dramatic customer growth on the platform.”
And it’s not surprising that Sony is keen to keep upgrading the PlayStation Network, following the news that it currently has a lot of active members.
SIE chief executive officer John Kodera recently announced a slew of shock reveals about Sony PlayStation heading into 2019.
This included news of how many PS4 consoles have been sold, the number of active PSN users and a hint that more is being worked on.
In a new statement shared this month, Kodera reveals: “Thanks to the continued support from our fans during the holiday season, we are pleased to announce that PS4 has reached 91.6 million units globally.
“We are also happy to announce that the monthly active users of PlayStation Network continues to show strong growth and has surpassed 90 million as of the end of November 2018…
“This year, we will bring more enhanced experiences to our fans along with a highly anticipated lineup of games that are only possible on PS4,” Kodera added.
“As we look toward the next PS4 milestone, SIE will continue to evolve, and we will further expand the platform to deliver the best interactive entertainment experiences to the world.”
Sony will be hoping that their PS4 console brand will continue to sell well, even into its final years.
The PS4 is expected to be replaced by the PlayStation 5 in 2020, although there are some analysts that believe Sony will wait longer.
Others believe that a new console will be announced this year, while some of the most exciting PS4 exclusives will be ported over as launch titles for the PS5.
Another successful year could put the PS4 in front of the Wii and original PlayStation in terms of lifetime sales, cementing its place in video games history as a massive Sony success.