Key Highlights
- Samarveer Singh bought a PS5 Pro but is disappointed with the lack of exclusive titles.
- Insomniac’s Spider-Man 3 and Venom game are rumored to be cancelled or delayed indefinitely.
- Naughty Dog’s Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet has been silent since its reveal, raising doubts about its release on PS5 Pro.
- The Knights of the Old Republic remake faces development troubles and Sony’s radio silence.
Gaming’s Greatest Disappointment: Exclusive Titles and the PS5 Pro
When I first brought home my PS5 Pro, nobody in a ten-mile radius could’ve been more excited than me. Immediately, I got to playing Death Stranding 2, and a couple of months later, Ghost of Yotei looked absolutely gorgeous on the more powerful console.
The Hype Around Insomniac’s Spider-Man 3
Insomniac Games was one of the hardest-hit Sony companies by recent leaks. The development roadmap revealed that it canned Spider-Man 2 story DLC and planned a Spider-Man 3 game for 2028 or later. That was in 2019, so let’s be clear: Spider-Man 3 should’ve been right around the corner.
In 2018, Insomniac’s Spider-Man for the PlayStation 4 was only the second game I’d ever pre-ordered. It was a special game, the perfect Spider-Man story, and it single-handedly ensured that I was lining up in early 2021 to buy a PlayStation 5 so I could play Miles Morales on Sony’s newer, stronger console.
Naughty Dog’s Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet
Naughty Dog’s silence is beginning to feel louder than ever. A full year-and-a-half after Naughty Dog revealed its next big project, a new IP called Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, we have yet to find a single update about the game. Irrelevant cribbing aside, Intergalactic promises to tackle serious themes like religious doctrine, loneliness, and personal belief systems, and that is no small task.
The Fallout of Development Troubles
Reports of development troubles, studio shifts, and endless rumors have surrounded the project since the day it was announced. Saber Interactive insists the game is still alive, but Sony has gone radio silent about it for what feels like an eternity. At this point, I genuinely have no clue whether the Knights of the Old Republic remake will actually land on the PlayStation 5 Pro or whether it’ll just drift into becoming another PlayStation 6 “future showcase” title instead.
The Venom Game’s Uncertain Future
The standalone Venom game was supposed to come out last year. Sadly, it was initially supposed to release all the way back in 2025, but the leaks paved the way for the development roadmap straight into hell. In fact, rumors have been swirling around for months now that the game might be completely canceled altogether.
Despite my problems with Spider-Man 2, the Venom game sounded like an absolute home run for Insomniac. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have the Venom game in mind as I tried to justify the $800+ price tag of my PlayStation 5.
Do I regret buying a PlayStation 5 Pro already? It’s not like I regret selling my base PS5 for the upgraded Pro version, but I’d be lying if I said this generation hasn’t felt unusually uncertain compared to Sony’s previous console eras.
There was a time when PlayStation exclusives arrived with rhythm and consistency, and even its best first-party studios pumped out multiple games in a generation. Now, however, entire years go by with almost nothing but CGI trailers, vague promises, and radio silence from studios that we once trusted blindly.
Development cycles have ballooned out of control, and even announced games no longer feel guaranteed. I’m definitely hoping that Insomniac finds its footing again after the devastating leaks, and Naughty Dog, Sony Santa Monica, and the rest of PlayStation’s first-party studios all finally start showing signs of life again too. Right now, however, owning a PS5 Pro increasingly feels like buying into potential instead of actual games.
