Sony State of Play Reveals New Housemarque Game, Borderlands 4 Release Date, and More

Sony’s latest State of Play press conference just wrapped up, revealing what’s headed for the PlayStation 5 in the coming months. In many ways, it was business as usual aside from one key detail: there was a surprising number of non-sequels announced. While it’s a little sad that the big-budget game industry has reached the point where it comes as a surprise when a newly announced game doesn’t have a big number tacked on to the end of its title, we’ll take what we can get. While I’m sure some will be disappointed over the lack of big first-party reveals and the multiple ignored anniversaries (God of War turns 20, and Bloodborne turns 10 in March), there were still a solid number of cool reveals. Let’s run down the most notable announcements from today’s Sony State of Play.

New Entry in the Shinobi Series Announced

Release Date: 8/29/2025

Systems: PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, PC

Lizardcube, the team who worked on the bone-crushing beat ‘em up Streets of Rage 4, revealed that they’re working on a revival of the Shinobi series. Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is a 2D platformer action platformer that looks like it has some flashy combos and plentiful style. Considering the good work that team did on their last series reboot, there’s reason to be excited for this one.

After Nine Years, Lost Soul Aside Release Window Revealed

Release Date: 2025

Systems: PS5, PS4, PC

Lost Soul Aside is an action-adventure game that’s been kicking around for some time, drawing quite a bit of attention because, despite looking like a AAA game, it was originally developed by a single person (although Ultizero Games now apparently has over 40 employees). Very much visually reminiscent of recent Final Fantasy games, it’s apparently an action RPG with a good amount of flair.

Borderlands 4 Finally Gets a Release Date

Release Date: 9/23/2025

Systems: PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC

After what feels like a very long time, Borderlands 4 finally got a September release date. It very much looks like more Borderlands, and its biggest new feature seems to be that Claptrap isn’t here anymore to annoy you into submission.

Directive 8020 Set For An October Release

Release Date: 10/2/2025

Systems: PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC

The studio behind Until Dawn and The Quarry announced a new installment in their The Dark Pictures anthology: Directive 8020. It’s a drama following the crew of an interstellar freighter after a deadly alien organism sneaks onto the ship. They’re trapped in space, you know, like in Alien, and hunted by a creature that can mimic them, you know, like The Thing, but despite not being subtle about its influences, it’s nice that Supermassive Games is still putting out these interactive B-movies.

Stop-Motion Horror Game The Midnight Walk Coming Out In May

Release Date: 5/8/2025

Systems: PS5, PC

The Midnight Walk is a Burton-esque horror game with a killer look and a cute little ugly guy named Potboy; what’s not to love? On top of getting a release date, we also got a better look at gameplay. In addition to solving puzzles in first-person while being hunted by creepy creatures, you also seem to have… a gun arm that looks right out of Metroid Prime? Neat!

Dreams of Another Announced, A Story-Focused Anti-Shooter from the PixelJunk Devs

Release Date: TBD

Systems: PS5, PS VR2

A very large number of games are about digitally shooting guys with guns, and while it is quite fun to digitally shoot guys with guns, sometimes it feels that too many games are, in fact, about digitally shooting guys with guns. Dreams of Another is a new entry in the PixelJunk series where you navigate a pointillist dream world while shooting guns. However, in this case, instead of these firearms blowing people away, these guns are used to create. It may be a little on the nose, but it’s still quite the setup.

Arthurian Action Title Tides of Annihilation Revealed

Release Date: TBD

Systems: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S

Tides of Annihilation was one of the most interesting non-sequels announced at this State of Play. Set in a Dark Fantasy London, the game is a riff on Arthurian legend where you play as Gwendolyn. It has a great look, but perhaps the most exciting implication is decidedly more videogamey: it has air combos. Basically, this implies it may be more of a fleet-footed character action game, ala Devil May Cry, rather than the heavier Souls-style of experience that has come into vogue. On top of this, these battles simply looked sleek, involving summoning spectral knights to perform showy elemental attacks against imaginative creatures. Despite its edgy name, Tides of Annihilation seems quite promising.

Metal Eden Announced, A Fast-Paced Sci-Fi FPS from the RUINER Devs

Release Date: 5/6/2025

Systems: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S

It is basically always a good sign when a shooter is reminiscent of iD Software’s recent DOOM titles, and the newly announced Metal Eden looks like it has some ripping-and-tearing going on. It’s from the devs behind the cyberpunk shooter RUINER, and in their latest, you wall-run and blast your way through a futuristic dystopia. The trailer got across a sense of speed and neon-infused ‘tude that has me eager to try it out.

Mindseye Revealed, A Sci-Fi Thriller From Ex-GTA Producer Leslie Benzies

Release Date: 2025

Systems: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S

We got another big-budget game announcement in Mindseye, a futuristic thriller from ex-GTA producer Leslie Benzies and his new studio, Build A Rocket Boy. Here, you play as a former soldier pulled into a techno-conspiracy, as you alternate between third-person shooting and driving segments; both involve an abundance of exploding cars.

Returnal-Spiritual Successor Saros Announced

Release Date: 2026

System: PS5

Saros was probably the only traditional “big” announcement at this latest State of Play; that is, a new game from a well-established PlayStation studio. While we didn’t see any gameplay, Housemarque compared their latest to their previous title, Returnal, in that it also seems to be about a person stuck in a time loop, and it will also be a roguelike. Between the game’s unnerving imagery and this studio’s knack for crafting exciting bullet-hell combat, there’s a lot to look forward to here.

You can view the full Sony State of Play for February below: