PlayStation's Major Franchises: Tracking the Years Since New Entries

This generation, Sony has cemented its status as the industry's premier publisher of narrative-driven, single-player games. Over the past four years especially, the company has rarely missed the mark; whether it be new entries in acclaimed series (Uncharted 4, The Last of Us Part II), fresh takes on old properties (God of War, Marvel's Spider-Man), or brand new IP (Horizon Zero Dawn, Ghost of Tsushima), there's been a remarkable consistency in the quality of PlayStation-exclusive releases. With Sony's PS4 swan song Ghost of Tsushima now behind us, we're looking back at the output of PlayStation's biggest first-party franchises over the past seven years — and beyond(!). (This list measures the time between original, mainline releases only. If a spinoff or remake was released more recently it's noted with an asterisk (*). Time elapsed figures are based on U.S. release dates and are recorded as of August 2020.) [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=playstation-major-franchise-output&captions=true"]

0-7 Years (PS4, PSVR)

Ghost of Tsushima – 1 month

Latest: Ghost of Tsushima (July 2020)

We may be only a month removed from Ghost’s debut, but after its record-breaking launch, it’s safe to assume Sony has a new franchise on its hands. In addition to becoming Sony’s fastest-selling original IP debut this generation, Ghost of Tsushima had the best sales launch ever for developer Sucker Punch and was the best-selling game of July in the U.S. Next up for Ghost is a new co-op mode that will be released this fall.

The Last of Us – 2 months

Latest: The Last of Us Part 2 (June 2020)

While the video game future of Naughty Dog’s post-apocalyptic series is uncertain, we know the franchise will live on through a different medium: A television adaptation is in the works at HBO, led by Naughty Dog director Neil Druckmann and Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin.

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MLB The Show – 5 months

Latest: MLB The Show 20 (March 2020)

Sony has released an MLB game each year since 1998, with “The Show” subtitle appearing every year since 2006. That yearly cadence should continue, though beginning as early as next year, The Show is expected to be released on non-PlayStation platforms for the first time.

Blood & Truth – 1 year, 3 months

Latest: Blood & Truth (May 2019)

Blood & Truth may become PlayStation’s first VR franchise. Sony’s Stuart Whyte told VR Focus the story of Blood & Truth was set up as something London Studio “can continue to build on.” He added, “That’s, fingers crossed, where we’re planning on going next.”

Everybody’s Golf – 1 year, 3 months

Latest: Everybody’s Golf VR (May 2019)

Days Gone – 1 year, 4 months

Latest: Days Gone (April 2019)

With only one entry, Days Gone has yet to establish itself as a franchise. However, developer Bend Studio is likely to return to its virus-plagued world, considering Days Gone became Bend’s best-selling game ever after only a month, according to NPD. Director Chris Reese even suggested there may be more to come, telling GamesRadar, "This is a world that we want to keep breathing more life into, and explore many, many different avenues.”

Astro Bot – 1 year, 10 months

Latest: Astro Bot Rescue Mission (October 2018)

Astro Bot is returning later this year with Astro’s Playroom, a non-VR pack-in game for PlayStation 5 that demonstrates the features of the console’s DualSense controller.

Marvel’s Spider-Man – 1 year, 11 months

Latest: Marvel’s Spider-Man (September 2018)

A smaller-scale spinoff, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, will be released as Sony’s premier PlayStation 5 launch exclusive this holiday. Insomniac, which was acquired by Sony following the release of Spider-Man, has already hinted at a proper sequel.

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God of War – 2 years, 4 months

Latest: God of War (April 2018)

A God of War sequel has not yet been confirmed, but it’s hard to imagine Sony’s Santa Monica Studio isn’t working on the series’ next entry. The 2018 reboot was a massive critical and commercial success; it holds a 94 on Metacritic and has sold over 10 million copies as of May 2019.

Gran Turismo – 2 years, 10 months

Latest: Gran Turismo Sport (October 2017)

The series’ next entry, Gran Turismo 7, has been announced for PlayStation 5. There’s no release window at this time.

SingStar – 2 years, 10 months

Latest: SingStar Celebration (October 2017)

The future of Sony’s long-running karaoke franchise isn’t promising, as all the SingStar servers were shut down earlier this year. Developer London Studio has since moved on to creating PSVR games, including VR World and Blood & Truth.

Knack – 2 years, 11 months

Latest: Knack 2 (September 2017)

The brainchild of PS4 and PS5 lead system architect Mark Cerny, Knack and its sequel failed to garner the acclaim bestowed upon many of its PS4-exclusive contemporaries. Despite the PlayStation community’s (partially ironic) calls for a new entry, there’s been no word on a third Knack.

Uncharted – 3 years

Latest: Uncharted: Lost Legacy (August 2017)

Uncharted 4 may have been the end of Nathan Drake’s story, but it probably won’t be the last we see from Sony’s beloved action-adventure series. Uncharted games combined to sell over 41 million copies as of 2017, and rumors suggest a new development team within Sony is working on a new entry, though this remains speculative.

Either way, the series will continue on the big screen with a Tom Holland-led movie adaptation.