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

Sony's plans to expand its family-friendly game offerings 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 triumph has spurred PlayStation to further invest in the family-friendly gaming space.

During Sony's Q3 Earnings Announcement on February 13, 2025, President, CEO, and CFO Hiroki Totoki highlighted Astro Bot's four Game Awards 2024 wins (including Game of the Year and Best Family Game), alongside Helldivers 2's Best Ongoing Game and Best Multiplayer Game wins. He emphasized these successes as significant steps towards 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 have seen limited recent activity. As noted by The Gamer, franchises like Sly Cooper, Ape Escape, and Jak and Daxter haven't received new installments in 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-friendly offerings in recent years.

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

The Potential Return of Legacy IPs

Astro Bot's success, featuring appearances from various dormant PlayStation IPs, hints at a potential resurgence of these beloved franchises. Hulst previously highlighted PlayStation's extensive IP portfolio as a valuable asset, emphasizing the company's ongoing exploration of opportunities to leverage legacy IPs and develop new franchises.

The recent Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater trailer showcased the return of Ape Escape monkeys, originally featured in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. The success of Sly Cooper on PlayStation Plus' Classics Catalog, achieving high ratings on the PlayStation Store, further supports this possibility. While no official announcements have been made, this suggests a potential focus on reviving family-friendly games from PlayStation's extensive library.

New Astro Bot Content Arriving February 13, 2025

Five New Levels and Special Bots

Starting February 13, 2025, Astro Bot players can enjoy a free update featuring five new levels, including the level showcased at the PlayStation XP Tournament Final in London. These levels are part of the new Vicious Void Galaxy and will be released weekly:

• 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

All updates will be available every Thursday at 6:00 AM PT, 2:00 PM GMT, and 10:00 PM JST.

Team Asobi Studio Director Nicolas Doucet, in a PlayStation.Blog post on February 13, 2025, announced that, unlike the Winter Wonder update, these levels will offer a greater challenge, testing players' jumping skills. Each level includes a new Special Bot to rescue, and completed levels can be replayed in 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.