PlayStation will not be taking part in Gamescom 2022, putting pressure on the publisher to schedule a new State of Play to compensate. Other gaming companies such as Nintendo, Activision Blizzard, Wargaming, and Take-Two Interactive have also confirmed they will not be at the upcoming conference in Cologne, Germany to take place from August 24-28.
PlayStation GamesCom 2022 presence expected to be low
A statement by Sony to outlet Games Wirtschaft has revealed that PlayStation will not have a presence at Gamescom, despite this year being the first time the convention will have an in-person show since the covid-19 pandemic.
We could still see some PlayStation announcements during the the Opening Night Live portion of the event. At Gamescom 2021, Sony showed off a nine-minute gameplay preview for Death Stranding Director’s Cut. However, the publication doesn’t expect significant news to come from the publisher due to the cancellation (as transcribed by Google Translate):
This means that upcoming Sony innovations such as PlayStation VR 2 or God of War Ragnarok are missing from the Cologne exhibition center. Since participation in Gamescom: Opening Night Live, produced by Geoff Keighley, is necessarily linked to a presence in the entertainment area, no world premieres or gameplay updates are to be expected in the opening show.
How this cancellation adds to new State of Play speculation
Insider Tom Henderson speculated several weeks ago that a State of Play could be happening later this month (though there’s only about a week left before July). This was predicated on the idea that Sony had “other important announcements” to make at the end of the month too, but it’s been revealed that this is most likely the company’s presentation on June 28 featuring the new INZONE headsets and monitors.
This puts pressure on PlayStation to have a new State of Play or some kind of showcase as a way to make up for its absence at Gamescom 2022. The June 28 event focusing on tech also raises the chances that we’ll see a State of Play fully dedicated to God of War Ragnarok, hopefully putting an end to the chaotic speculation surrounding the game’s release date.
In other news, Final Fantasy 16 devs explain why the game isn’t open world like Final Fantasy 15, and the latest Gran Turismo 7 update has added The Watkins Glen International.
