PlayStation's renewed focus on family-friendly games, fueled by the phenomenal success of Astro Bot, signals a potential resurgence of beloved legacy IPs.

Astro Bot's Triumph: Astro Bot, released in September 2024, has surpassed 1.5 million copies sold and clinched the coveted Game of the Year award at The Game Awards 2024. This success, highlighted by Sony President and CEO Hiroki Totoki during the Q3 Earnings Announcement (February 13, 2025), underscores the viability of the family gaming market for PlayStation. Totoki emphasized the awards received by Astro Bot and Helldivers 2 as significant steps towards diversifying PlayStation's game portfolio.

A Family-Friendly Legacy: While PlayStation boasts a history of family-oriented titles like Sly Cooper, Ape Escape, and Jak and Daxter, these franchises have seen limited activity in recent years. The departure of Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon to Xbox further underscores the need for PlayStation to bolster its family-friendly lineup. Ratchet & Clank and LittleBigPlanet remain key exceptions, alongside the recent success of Astro Bot.

PlayStation Studios CEO Hermen Hulst stressed the significance of Astro Bot's impact, praising the small team's achievement and its role in showcasing PlayStation's capabilities. He also reiterated the importance of PlayStation's extensive IP portfolio, hinting at potential revivals of dormant franchises.

Legacy IP Revival?: The inclusion of Ape Escape monkeys in the Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater trailer, and the strong performance of Sly Cooper on PlayStation Plus' Classics Catalog, suggests a potential return of these classic family-friendly franchises.

New Astro Bot Content: A free update for Astro Bot, launching February 13, 2025, will introduce five new challenging levels within the "Vicious Void Galaxy," each featuring a new Special Bot to rescue. The update also includes Time Attack mode with online leaderboards and a 60fps option for PS5 Pro users.

The release schedule for the new levels is as follows:

• 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 at 6:00 AM PT, 2:00 PM GMT, and 10:00 PM JST. Astro Bot remains a PlayStation 5 exclusive.