
Games Inbox: Is there going to be a PS5 State of Play this summer?
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Summer schedule
I really hope that Sony is planning to make more first party games but I have a feeling there's no going back to how things were. It's been too long and too much has changed, including Sony still selling tons of PlayStation 5s even without any proper exclusives and Xbox going multiformat.
I think it's reasonable to hope they will do more though. We can't stop them making any more live service games but they do seem to at least be slowing down a bit. The problem is that slowing up doesn't mean they'll speed up with single-player games instead. They could just end up making less overall, like they have over the last few years.
We've got Ghost Of Yōtei this year, which I'm not super excited about (I'd had enough of the last one by halfway through) but I am very interested in seeing Returnal follow-up Saros next year, so hopefully things are slowly turning around.
I want to be optimistic, but the problem is there's no sign of Sony having a not-E3 State of Play showcase this summer. The past two years they've had it at the end of May and I think we've probably gone past the point they were going to announce it if it was happening. I hope I'm wrong, or maybe it's later in June for some reason, but it doesn't look good.
RaeBonn
Your story is another castle
I see the Super Mario Bros. Movie sequel has had its name leaked as Super Mario World. I'm not sure your average Joe is going to get that reference, but would they actually bother doing an adaptation of the game's story? Does the game even have a story? I've beaten it twice and I honestly can't remember.
Looking at Wikipedia, apparently it was all in the manual and basically Bowser kidnapped Peach and some dinosaur eggs. There's so little to work with I really have no idea what direction any of these films could do to justify themselves as anything other than a cash-in. The Paper Mario games are the only ones with an actual plot, but even then that's not what's good about them.
Austin
Risky business
I've got a bad feeling about these upcoming Marvel games. I imagine Wolverine will be fine, but that Iron Man game will be almost two decades too late by the time it comes out. And I can't believe many people are interested in a Captain America and Black Panther team-up set in World War 2.
Normally I'd just shrug my shoulders and write it off as an incoming flop but nowadays that means the whole studio could go down and how many hundreds of people are working on these two games?
I'm not exaggerating either. Consider what happened to Firaxis after the (excellent) Midnight Suns flopped. All the lead developers left, the studio was fractured (I don't think it was a coincidence that Civilization 7 was a rare dud), and now we'll never get an XCOM 3.
I don't know these developers behind Iron Man and the other one as well, but I do know that lots of jobs are now in danger, just because EA was late jumping on a bandwagon.
Cerates
Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk
Reliable reputation
Glad to hear GC got Power Stone back and I like the sound of all the effort Capcom put into the collection and the reasonable price. I've never really been into fighting games, so it's not really of interest to me. But it Does make me think better of Capcom, for when something else I am interested in comes up.
I wish this was something other publishers thought of, especially as Capcom is doing so well, financially speaking, at the moment. But unfortunately EA and Activision, and even Ubisoft to a degree, just rely on their big franchises and don't really put out much else anyway.
Sony is another example of doing this well, because their reputation for first party games really wasn't that great until the PlayStation 4. They just built it up and became someone to rely on. Them throwing that all away now is so strange.
Griefer
Money issue
I've been thinking for a while now about this, but Sony could take Xbox out the console market with just one sentence. You can put Game Pass on PlayStation. There wouldn't be any need for an Xbox and we know Phil wants it on there.
Why Sony won't do that I'll never know. It's a win/win for Sony. You never know, Sony might allow them sooner or later and Xbox can go the way of Sega, just with a hell of a lot more money and just to make games.
David
GC: They won't do it because they make more money selling games on their store. Although they may change their mind in time, because they've begun to make more selling microtransactions than actual games.
And another thing
You know, I have been witnessing quite a bit of clamour over the last few days. More or less a lot of complaining and quite a stir of negativity. I've seen GTA 6 fall surprisingly prey to this. Either people have issues with the inevitably violent content, the sex or the aged fable of controversy. My take is my bond and I say that I gladly welcome the gratuitous violence, the sex, and the glory glitz of Leonida.
Because I've waited over 12 years for an evolution and no echoes of bemusement will deter me from my course of securing the collector's edition as soon as possible. If that includes a statue or early access I will be immensely satisfied.
My second point is the Nintendo Switch 2. I've already mentioned that I secured the Mario Kart World bundle from Amazon and I acknowledge the bricking controversy. But modding isn't my cup of tea, so Nintendo has nothing to worry about. I'd rather emulate PlayStation 2 games anyway.
Thirdly, the PlayStation 6. It matters not the price, storage, exclusives or specs. I'm buying this system, as I did the PlayStation 5. Day one. If it arrives in 2027, the merrier it is for me. I will very much take great stride in playing Horizon Zero Dawn 3 and many other titles.
Shahzaib Sadiq
Mum's the word
I was wondering when we might get some concrete thoughts about the Switch 2 launch games?
Is there an embargo about when Switch 2 games are able to be reviewed? Or perhaps there is an embargo on when you can talk about an embargo, nothing from Nintendo would surprise me.
Mark
GC: There's always an embargo on when we can talk about an embargo, but especially when it involves Nintendo.
Facing defeat
I know the war was lost long ago (shops stopping second-hand games was the end, as far as I see it) but it is so tragic to see how small a part of gaming physical copies are now. I don't know anyone, amongst my friends or family, that buys physical copies anymore and what would be the point anyway, when they're not even stored on the disc?.
Perhaps it was inevitable, since even if the initial game is on the disc it gets distorted and expanded by updates the second you put it in a console but it's the fact that there's literally no benefit to digital. People talk about convenience but what convenience? Not having to change discs is just silly and lazy.
And it takes time to buy a physical copy? I could drive to the shops and back quicker that it takes me to download a modern game. Not that I'm in the habit of paying out £60 on a whim, that I suddenly decide I have to have a new game right then and there.
Gaming got infinitely more expensive as soon as it became more difficult to sell on your games, especially with eBay's new payment rules. But apparently nobody cares. Maybe everyone else is a millionaire all of a sudden, and I didn't get the memo, but the death of physical is just handing more control to publishers and taking more cash out of the wallets of ordinary people.
Rufus
Inbox also-ransJust watched the Borderlands movie on Amazon. It's no Fallout or The Last Of Us but it's not that bad. I particularly liked Jack Black as the annoying android Claptrap. They should make a Brütal Legend movie – it would have a great soundtrack. Think I will check out the Like A Dragon movie next.
Johnny Alpha SD
Currently playing: Doom Eternal and Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6
Thanks for the heads-up on Very, I managed to get my bundle with a camera so I'm very excited now. I went back and checked and it's still live though, which seems weird given no one else has any stock at all.
Boysie More Trending
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New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers' letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.
You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader's Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.
You can also leave your comments below and don't forget to follow us on Twitter.
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Games Inbox: Is there a secret Nintendo Switch 2 Christmas game?
The Monday letters page thinks Battlefield 6 could be a big hit this autumn, as one reader hopes Final Fantasy 17 will be more like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@ Summer to winter I see there's still a lot of talk about whether Nintendo has a 'secret' new Switch 2 game for this Christmas but I will be absolutely shocked if they do. We're probably getting a Nintendo Direct this week, that I can believe, but what are people expecting? Animal Crossing or a new Mario? I don't see it. The new Mario is never going to come out straight after Donkey Kong, it's much more likely going to be left for the new movie next year. And while they might tease Animal Crossing, they're not going to release it this year, no way. Why not? Because normal people don't buy new video game consoles in the middle of the summer. Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza are Nintendo's big Christmas games. They may not be secrets, but they are just about the most mass market games they have and they don't even need anything else, especially not with Metroid Prime 4 and Pokémon Legends out this year. There might be some small game or port or something like that, but I am certain there won't be any more big new games until next year. Taylor Moon In the wings I think people are underestimating Battlefield 6 a bit. Battlefield was huge up until Battlefield 4 and if EA hadn't messed up it could have overtaken Call Of Duty as everyone's favourite military shooter. Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. I don't know if Call Of Duty is in too deep now but you don't have to overthrow it to still be a massive hit. I like what I'm hearing about Battlefield 6 so far and I think it could be massive. Although it does depend what this year's Call Of Duty will be like, but if it's a dud then EA are right there able to take advantage of Activision's mistake. Lotto Pre-word of mouth Would just like to agree with the Reader's Feature about Star Wars Outlaws. It's a really great game and I feel it was victim to everyone assuming it would be bad and never bothering to find out whether it was or not. This sort of thing happens a lot, it seems to me, where a game (or movie) is killed by online word of mouth before anyone has actually played it. I'm not saying the game is an all-time classic but as only a moderate Star Wars fan I had a lot of fun with it and agree it's Ubisoft's best open world game in a long time. There're some neat little improvements to the formula going on and I can only hope they at least make it into other non-Star Wars games. I would absolutely recommend it, especially if you can find it cheap. Lomas Email your comments to: gamecentral@ Survival plan Survival crafting games aren't my usual fair but when there's a neat setting at the centre I've been drawn in and not been disappointed, having thought both Subnautica and Grounded were fantastic. Abiotic Factor's full release on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC has just been made known to me as it's been added day one (for the 1.0 release) on both Game Pass and PS Plus Extra. The setting looks like my cup of tea and the mentions of Half-Life when reading up about it have pretty much put it to the top of my list for next game. Shame it comes out a week or so before Grounded 2 early access. I had intended to play that, but I really want to give Abiotic Factor a play so will probably wait for Grounded 2 1.0 to play that game. It's for one to six players. I'll probably play it solo but as is increasingly happening due to barriers between Sony and Microsoft being lowered its cross play, so don't have to worry about starting it on PlayStation (my preferred choice) and not being able to play with my Xbox owning family members. Simundo Budget limitations I'm glad to see I'm not the only one that keeps hoping a new Nintendo Direct will see a new Castlevania annoucement. There's no reason to hope for it except that it seems impossible that it won't happen at some point… but it never does. I understand that finding a developer for it is a difficult, but if MercurySteam aren't available there are plenty of other indie developers that I'm sure would do a good job of it. The main problem is whether Konami is willing to put up the budget to make a good one. Even the best developer can only work with the limits they've got and you have to go back to the PS1 era to find a Castlevania with a decent sized budget. Ingot Fightin' IP I notice there's a lot of licensed beat 'em-ups and fighting games around at the moment, from that Invincible game to a new Marvel fighter and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Marvel scrolling beat 'em-ups. I approve of all of this, but I don't particularly like any of the franchises that are getting turned into the games. I'm curious what other people would like to see made into these type of games? I'm sure GC would be happy to see a Transformers game, which I feel could work as either, but somehow that's never been done before. A one-on-one fighter seems like it would be a no-brainer, considering everyone has their own special abilities and weapons and transformations. Or how about a Lord of the Rings beat 'em-up? I really liked the ones EA did when the movies first came out and I'd love something that was able to be a little more tongue in cheek with the franchise. I think the Tolkien family stop that from happening but that'd be my wish, and they did allow the Lego game. Or maybe a Roger Rabbit beat 'em-up? Something that had all sorts of old school animated cartoon characters in it, from Disney, Looney Tunes, Tom & Jerry, and so on. I bet companies would love to make those characters relevant again and I'd love to see that kind of thing. I'm going to stop now because I'm already upset that these things are never going to happen. Gable GC: There was a Beast Wars fighting game, but it was rubbish. Modern experiment I like the idea of CD Projekt making a beat 'em-up style game specifically because they're not very good at melee combat usually. I don't know if that'll end up being true, but it seems like a good idea. Considering they've done fantasy and sci-fi so far, I'd like to see them do something set in the current day too, as a change. The longer games take to make the less chance developers have to try new things, because they're always forced to go back to make sequels. Hopefully CD Projekt have enough money and feel this game would be a good experience that will help their others as well. Tyremate Expedition 34 I can't believe we're looking at the possibility where the people that made Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 really might be working on, or at least advising on, Final Fantasy 17. I am 100% behind them being involved but it seems incredible that Square Enix is so out of ideas that they need to rely on someone else that was already paying homage to their games. In case you haven't heard, the developer went and met with Square Enix for an exchange of ideas, or something like that, but it's pretty obvious what they were talking about. At a minimum they must've been discussing the idea of them working on some kind of spin-off but I'm certain the question of Final Fantasy 17 came up as well. I don't think anything has leaked out about it so far, so it can't be very far along, but I would absolutely love to see something that was more in line with the pre-Final Fantasy 7 games. Something turn-based and with a traditional fantasy setting, not sci-fi or the boring Game of Thrones knock-off that was the last game. Who knows how likely it is, but I feel there's now a real chance that Final Fantasy can be exciting again, and not ashamed of its own history. Egon Inbox also-rans Never mind Mario and Peach, what's the deal with Luigi and Daisy? I know her as Luigi's girlfriend but I don't actually remember any games where they're both in it, other than sports ones. Choser GC: We think it might have happened in a Japanese manga or something. We don't recall any game that makes it clear they have a relationship. Never mind Star Wars Outlaws 2, where is the third Star Wars Jedi game? Are we going to have to wait till next Star Wars Day for it to be announced? I think probably. Greeny More Trending Email your comments to: gamecentral@ The small print New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers' letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content. You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader's Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot. You can also leave your comments below and don't forget to follow us on Twitter. MORE: Games Inbox: Are gamers too entitled about video games? MORE: Games Inbox: Why has the Nintendo Switch 2 been so successful? MORE: Games Inbox: Will there ever be a new Mass Effect game?


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One of the most frustrating aspects of Sony's change in approach is that they've never explained anything publicly. The above is all speculation and while it's almost certainly accurate, Sony has never acknowledged a change in plans or discussed why they've released so few exclusives in the second half of this generation – or why they're so obsessed with live service titles. That too can easily be guessed at, but it seems their plans are shifting even further, with a recently discovered job ad asking for someone to 'play a critical leadership role in shaping and executing the global commercial strategy for PlayStation Studios software titles across all digital platforms beyond PlayStation hardware, including Steam, Epic Games Store, Xbox, Nintendo, and mobile.' As the ad puts it: 'This role is accountable for optimising title profitability, ensuring cross-functional alignment, and leading a high-performing team focused on multiplatform expansion, mid-range commercial planning, and platform partner management.' Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. Naturally, no examples are given but while it's still unlikely that recent PlayStation 5 exclusives will appear on other formats, other than the PC, Sony has recently ramped up its multiformat efforts with the release of former PSP exclusive Patapon on Nintendo Switch and the promise of Everybody's Golf to follow. Clearly these are very low-profile franchises, but while they and last year's Lego Horizon Adventures purposefully skipped the Xbox, live service games Helldivers 2 is coming to Xbox Series X/S next month. There's no suggestion that this new role will mean God Of War or The Last Of Us turning up on Xbox overnight, or indeed ever, but the older some exclusives get the more likely it becomes, at least on Nintendo formats – which Sony has long insisted are not direct rivals. For now, the newly advertised role is still likely to focus on older games and live service titles but even that would have been unthinkable even just five years ago, at the beginning of the generation. As far as Nintendo is concerned, exclusives are their life blood and it is certainly impossible to imagine any of their games appearing on other formats, but for Sony exclusives are an increasingly minor consideration, that are no longer profitable enough when released on only one format. This is a truth that Xbox has already realised, especially given how poor Xbox Series X/S hardware sales have been compared to the PlayStation 5. More Trending Microsoft hasn't been very open about their plans either, but it already seems clear there's nothing that won't eventually be released on PlayStation 5. So it's no surprise to find that just as the Sony job ad appears there's rumours of Gears Of War: E-Day and State Of Decay 3 also coming to Sony's format. Website MP1st has found résumés and job ads that seem to confirm both games being multiformat, although whether there'd be a short delay after the initial Xbox and PC release, as there was with Indiana Jones And The Great Circle, is unknown. There were many ways to cope with the increasing cost of making triple-A games but, perhaps predictably, Microsoft and Sony have made no attempt to decrease budgets and have instead sought to increase their revenues by increasing the number of places their games can be bought and played. That's not necessarily a bad thing but there's not yet any sign that Sony will start making more exclusives, whether they're multiformat or not. If that had been the case then most fans would likely welcome Sony's new approach with open arms. Email gamecentral@ leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader's Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. MORE: Elden Ring Nightreign's most requested game mode is coming next week MORE: The Witcher dev CD Projekt's new game revealed in oddly descriptive job listing MORE: Xbox games for Switch 2 'expected' soon ahead of rumoured Nintendo Direct


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Vanessa Kirby confirms huge Fantastic Four secret everyone is talking about
Warning: Spoilers ahead for The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Vanessa Kirby has confirmed the truth behind that Fantastic Four mid-credits sequence. The British actress, 37, plays Sue Storm—or the Invisible Woman, to those in the know—in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Sue makes up one quarter of Marvel's First Family, appearing alongside husband Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), hotheaded brother Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn) and human rock face The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) as the titular Fantastic Four. With the Fantastic Four's Marvel Cinematic Universe debut out now, audiences have been flocking in droves to witness their arrival. The team may have their hands full battling cosmic world-eater Galactus and his herald, the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner), but there'll be an even bigger villain on fans' minds once the end credits finish rolling. With the cat out of the bag, Kirby has clarified what Doctor Doom's cameo at the end of the film means… and confirmed that star Robert Downey Jr. is already very much back. In the first of two post-credits sequences, Sue is shocked to find a menacing hooded figure looming over her young son, Franklin. Fans will already know this to be the Fantastic Four's longtime nemesis, Doctor Doom, who will be played by Robert Downey Jr. in the upcoming sequel, Avengers: Doomsday. Although the villain's face is obscured, Kirby has revealed that it was indeed Downey Jr. behind that hood. 'Yeah! Robert's never not been on set,' she told Variety when asked whetherRDJ was present for the shoot. She continued: 'He's always there. He is our leader. We call him our Godfather. He's looked after us. This sequence was filmed by the Russo Brothers as part of their work on Avengers: Doomsday and shot while Kirby was pregnant in real life. 'It's such a joy working with the Russos and him, because they've had such deep collaboration for so long,' she revealed. 'And it's been amazing being pregnant and working on Avengers. I felt so inspired and so relieved that I've been so taken care of. It's been a really beautiful journey. Robert is just doing incredible work. I'm so excited.' It was announced last year that Downey Jr. would be returning to the long-running franchise, six years after being killed off in Avengers: Endgame. This came as Earth's mightiest heroes faced off against purple menace Thanos (Josh Brolin) for the fate of the universe. This spelt the end of Downey Jr.'s career-defining stint as Tony Stark—aka Iron Man—sacrificing himself at the end of the film to secure the future of reality as we know it. A few years later, it was confirmed that he would be returning, albeit in an entirely different role. The actor's appointment to the post was unveiled at last year's Comic-Con, when a cloaked Downey Jr. removed his mask to reveal that he would be playing Doom, real name Victor von Doom. This character was previously played by late Nip/Tuck actor Julian McMahon in the 2005 and 2007 films and by Toby Kebbell in the 2015 reboot. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Doom's brief appearance at the end of First Steps gives little away as to what he has planned, although we do know it involves Sue and Reed's infant son. He will spearhead a massive cast in Avengers: Doomsday, which is currently set for release on December 26, 2026. More Trending Names already announced include Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Letitia Wright and Paul Rudd, as well as X-Men actors Sir Patrick Stewart, Sir Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn and James Marsden. Of his return to the MCU, Downey Jr. joked: 'New mask, same task. 'What did I tell you? I like playing complicated characters.' The Fantastic Four: First Steps is out in UK cinemas now. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: Pedro Pascal responds to misconceptions and his answer is so on-brand MORE: Benedict Cumberbatch blasts 'grossly wasteful' film industry MORE: Meet the 'hidden' Russo sibling leading her Marvel director brothers' studio