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Hey, everybody! Tim and I are back this week to talk about the games they are playing, a busy news week, and some big contenders that are releasing soon. This week also features an interview with Darren Bridges, Lead Designer, Sucker Punch, for Ghost of Yōtei Legends.

Stuff We Talked About

• Next week’s release highlights:
  • Hades II  | PS5
  • Mouse: P.I. For Hire | PS5
  • Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss | PS5
  • Pragmata | PS5
    
    
• Wrath: Aeon of Ruin PS VR2 features  — Get ready for the Brutal Edition dropping April 9, which amps up the carnage as you take down otherworldly foes with might and magic in this retro-style FPS inspired by Quake.
  
  
• Introducing The Playerbase —  A unique opportunity for PlayStation’s biggest fans to step into some of the biggest game worlds by having their likeness scanned and appear within a PlayStation game.
  
  
• Cyberpunk 2077 PSSR update — The new PS5 Pro update is now live and brings 4K upscaling, powered-up performance, advanced ray tracing, and a host of other features that make Night City shine.
  
  
• 007 First Light DualSense — Check out the golden 007 First Light Limited Edition DualSense controller coming May 27 alongside the new game.
  
  
• Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve dev diary — This latest title in the aerial combat series comes to PS5 later this year. Before you take to the skies, learn how the devs aim to push the boundaries of photorealism and introduce first-person story sequences.

The Cast

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Tim Turi – Content Communications Manager, SIE

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O’Dell Harmon Jr. – Content Communications Specialist, SIE

Thanks to Dormilón for our rad theme song and show music.

[Editor’s note: PSN game release dates are subject to change without notice. Game details are gathered from press releases from their individual publishers and/or ESRB rating descriptions.]

Faerk7 shares Leon grimacing in the rain

KevinFerna43259 shares Grace framed by broken glass

AlagoaJon shares Leon readying his leg to attack

PattyGnand shares Grace aiming at The Girl before she attacks

ThomasCao13 shares Grace sneaking down a hallway

Gemstarsjar shares the little girl Emily in her containment room

Search #PSshare #PSBlog on Twitter or Instagram to see more entries to this week’s theme, or be inspired by other great games featuring Photo Mode. Want to be featured in the next Share of the Week?

THEME: Resident Evil Requiem – Leon
SUBMIT BY: 11:59 PM PT on April 15, 2026 

Next week, Leon S. Kennedy takes the spotlight. Share spoiler-free portraits of Leon in Resident Evil Requiem using #PSshare #PSBlog for a chance to be featured.

I’m Ivan Slovtsov, studio director at Fantastic Signals, and I’m excited to tell you more about The Lift, where we’re blending an intriguing sci-fi story with addictive handyman sim gameplay. In addition to our brand new trailer, I’ll share some insights into what makes our supernatural handyman simulator tick and what you’ll experience when it launches on PS5 in 2027.

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In The Lift, you play as a Keeper: a resourceful handyman tasked with restoring the Institute, a massive research facility that was abandoned after a mysterious catastrophic incident. In the process, you will uncover a mind-boggling conspiracy that left the Institute in ruins, and bring the facility back to its former glory with your trusty toolbox.

With The Lift, we want to combine the satisfying gameplay of first-person “repairman” games (think House Flipper or PowerWash Simulator) with the deep storytelling and interconnected systems of immersive sims like Prey.

Our team has previously worked on titles such as Pathologic 2 and Ori and the Will of the Wisps, and we’re bringing this narrative and worldbuilding prowess to create a truly memorable story-driven adventure.

The Lift draws heavy influence from the works of the Strugatsky brothers, who were prolific Soviet science fiction authors. Their iconic novel, Roadside Picnic, inspired the “New Weird” literary movement and many fantastic games like S.T.A.L.K.E.R., Pacific Drive, Death Stranding, Disco Elysium, and Control.

While we absolutely adore Roadside Picnic, The Lift instead turns to another book by the Strugatskys – Monday Starts on Saturday, a witty satire of the bureaucratic autocracy that explores the resourcefulness and grit of the human mind.

In The Lift, we’re telling a story of brilliant people who achieve the impossible together, set in a retrofuturistic world where the most unimaginable, fantastical things have become the norm—studied and ‘solved’ by the scientific community.

Your goal is to get the Institute back online by restoring its five major areas: the Post Office, the Communication Center, the Archive, the Library, and the Reactor. The titular lift is your elevator-turned-HQ used to travel across the facility, craft items, and unlock new gear to enter previously inaccessible areas. You can also customize it with countless decoration items found in the Institute to make it your own cozy base of operations.

As you revive the Institute, you will face a myriad of restoration tasks that only a master engineer can tackle. From fixing furniture, vacuuming cosmic goo, and rewiring electromechanical grids to awakening a sentient reactor, triangulating an interdimensional signal with a satellite dish, and operating a massive computing mainframe. There’s a lot of work to do! As you progress, you’ll unlock new tools and meet a cast of quirky characters who will help unveil the mystery behind the Institute’s demise.

We can’t wait for the PlayStation community to experience The Lift. Our passionate team has been pouring everything into this world, and we hope players will enjoy utilizing the unique and strange tools available to them as they unravel the many curiosities.

At launch, The Lift will support a variety of features across PlayStation 5 consoles, including DualSense controller haptics, adaptive triggers, and enhanced graphics on PS5 Pro, when it releases on PlayStation 5 in 2027. Stay tuned, as there’s a lot more of the Institute left to uncover.

For those of you who haven’t been tuning into your hololithic projectors, Warhammer Survivors is a fast-paced roguelite survivors’ game. Choosing from a roster of iconic Warhammer characters, you’ll lead champions against endless tides of enemies from the Warhammer 40,000 and Warhammer Age of Sigmar universes.  

Today, in addition to announcing that the game will launch on PlayStation 5 later this year, we’re also revealing new playable characters, an arsenal of devastating weapons and a mighty menace in the form of the brutal and belligerent Orks. 

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The universes of Warhammer 40,000 and Warhammer Age of Sigmar are rich with iconic characters, legends and lore, and it is no easy feat when it comes to choosing which champions we add to the game. We think Warhammer fans are really going to like who we’ve revealed today: we’ve introduced several war veterans (in the form of Commissar Yarrick and The Legend of Catachan), the indomitable Chapter Master of the Ultramarines (Marneus Calgar) and even a Leman Russ tank. 

Yep, that’s right. When Warhammer Survivors launches later this year, you’ll be able to command a Leman Russ Tank as Knight-Commander Pask. He is the largest Warhammer Survivors character we’ve revealed so far, and given the size of his indomitable battle tank, smaller enemies will easily be churned up under his tank treads. It’s a lot of fun to mow down fodder enemies while a voidship vaporises distant groups of enemies from above. 

Speaking of heavy-duty weaponry, let me tell you about some of my favourites from those we’ve announced today. The Warhammer 40,000 universe is beset by a whole manner of xenos threats, so it’s only appropriate that these champions come equipped with a devastating array of new weapons. 

The legendary Gauntlets of Ultramar call Marneus Calgar to your side. Not only does this evolved weapon crush enemies in an arc, but it also unleashes a torrent of bolter rounds that explode near and distant enemies. It really puts the bullet in bullet heaven. 

My favourite is the D6 Dice. This is a cross-universe weapon, usable in both Warhammer 40,000 and Warhammer Age of Sigmar universes. The D6 Dice weapon rains several red dice (the number of which can be increased with passive abilities) from the screen, bouncing onto enemies and exploding – inflicting damage dependent on the number on the dice face that was rolled. There’s nothing greater than seeing a bucket of dice rain from the screen. As a long-time tabletop fan (I play Orks), I love this weapon. 

The Orks are the second enemy faction we’ve revealed for the Warhammer 40,000 universe. This mob of boisterous bullies hurls a variety of enemy types at the player, from exploding Bomb Squigs to a giant conjured foot, which does not discriminate when it comes to crushing the player character or enemies alike. How many different Orks have you seen in our trailer? 

Leading the charge is the biggest and meanest Ork of all – Ghazghkull Thraka. The prophet of the Waaagh! is no average Ork and to bring him down requires more than might.  

You might be thinking: you’ve levelled up, upgraded your weapons, mercilessly slain hordes of enemies – you’ve won? Nope. At the end of every stage, you’ll be beset with an Extremis Boss (powerful enemy faction leaders), each with their own deadly attack patterns and mechanics. Ghazghkull, for example, slashes his Power Klaw in a telegraphed attack, shoots a hailstorm of dakka and calls tides of Orks to fight beside him in a great and raucous Waaagh.   

I don’t want to spoil too much… but to defeat them, you’ll need more than a combination of upgraded and evolved weapons; there are plenty of secrets to be uncovered in Warhammer Survivors. 

We’ve revealed new characters, weapons, and enemies. What’s next? Well, let’s just say we have a LOT more to show. Make sure you wishlist and follow our social channels to stay tuned for all the updates and reveals. 

Warhammer Survivors launches on PlayStation 5 this year, so wishlist now – you don’t have long to wait. See you next time.

In this developer diary video from Project Aces, we’ll take a look at how Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve is the culmination of 30 years of experience and expertise. 

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One of the first things Ace Combat 8 explores is your role as a pilot in the world of Strangereal. As the new leader of a squad based on the carrier Endurance, you need to win your team’s trust which Kazutoki Kono, the series brand director, explains.

Your character is at the heart of a deeply emotional story, where you move between daily life on the aircraft carrier and high-stakes missions among the clouds as the Federation of Central Usea struggles to survive with limited resources in a bitter war.

To truly immerse each player, Project Aces engineered an innovation for the Ace Combat series, first-person perspective during story scenes. New levels of immersion are possible not only due to this new perspective, but also the huge leap forward in photorealistic rendering of your crafts, the environment, and, most importantly, that big, beautiful sky that’s just begging for a battle.

Developer and Producer Kosuke Itomi, Masato Kanno, and Keiichi Yamaguchi describe how the art team applied decades of experience and craftsmanship to the task of bringing each fan-favorite aircraft to life. 

We’re also excited to share more about the exclusive internal “Cloudly” engine, the “Lumen” lightning system which is used to render glorious, light-sensitive clouds and weather, and how this system changes the game for anyone soaring into that wild blue yonder. 

And of course, beauty isn’t everything. Producer Manabu Shimomoto explains how the team has been working on making Ace Combat 8’s dogfights an unforgettable pulse-pounding ride. You’ll hear about their philosophy of making this a flight shooting game that anyone can enjoy, from the first-time pilot to the battle-hardened ace, and Development Director Akira Yasui will talk about how the new tutorial system helps accomplish that goal as well.

This dev diary shares the feelings of a team with 30 years of development experience. Every ounce of that passion and commitment has been poured into environments that will immerse you, a story that will inspire you, and gameplay that will thrill you. Please join us as we prepare to take off for an unforgettable flight.

Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve is coming to PlayStation 5 this year. Wishlist today.

Featuring a golden sheen and radiant barrel design, the controller frames James Bond’s iconic codename and weapon on the DualSense wireless controller touchpad.

“With this 007 First Light controller, we saw an opportunity to welcome James Bond back to gaming after more than 13 years in a way that felt instantly iconic. The golden finish pays tribute to the elegance, legacy, and timeless style of the franchise, while the barrel-inspired detailing reflects the themes of the game and how it feels to play it, as well as being a nod to one of pop culture’s most recognizable visual signatures. Every element of the DualSense design was crafted as a celebration of Bond’s return, blending legacy and modernity to create a controller that feels unmistakably 007 from the moment you see it.”

-Rasmus Poulsen, Franchise Art Director on 007 First Light

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TThe DualSense wireless controller – 007 First Light Limited Edition will be available in limited quantities in Singapore/Malaysia/Indonesia/Thailand/Philippines/Vietnam for a recommended retail price of SGD 115 / MYR 419 / IDR 1,549,000 / THB 2,890 / PHP 5,411 / VND 2,399,000. Actual retailer prices may vary.

Pre-orders begin on April 17 at 10 am local time at participating retailers. The exact launch date and availability for the controller may vary by country/region. 

The new controller launches starting on May 27 alongside 007 First Light for PS5, where players take on the role of a young Bond at the very beginning of his journey in this standalone, re-imagined origin story for video games, navigating a world of global intrigue and earning his codename. The DualSense wireless controller’s adaptive triggers deliver precise responsiveness during gunfights, while haptic feedback places you in the middle of the action during explosive set pieces from the game. Learn more about 007 First Light and check out the latest trailer here.

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Featuring a golden sheen and radiant barrel design, the controller frames James Bond’s iconic codename and weapon on the DualSense wireless controller touchpad.

“With this 007 First Light controller, we saw an opportunity to welcome James Bond back to gaming after more than 13 years in a way that felt instantly iconic. The golden finish pays tribute to the elegance, legacy, and timeless style of the franchise, while the barrel-inspired detailing reflects the themes of the game and how it feels to play it, as well as being a nod to one of pop culture’s most recognizable visual signatures. Every element of the DualSense design was crafted as a celebration of Bond’s return, blending legacy and modernity to create a controller that feels unmistakably 007 from the moment you see it.”

-Rasmus Poulsen, Franchise Art Director on 007 First Light

View and download image

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The DualSense wireless controller – 007 First Light Limited Edition will be available in limited quantities globally for a recommended retail price of $84.99 USD/ ¥12,480 (including tax) / €84.99/ £74.99. Actual retailer prices may vary.

Pre-orders begin on April 17 at 10 am local time at direct.playstation.com (where available), as well as participating retailers. The exact launch date and availability for the controller may vary by country/region. 

The new controller launches starting on May 27 alongside 007 First Light for PS5, where players take on the role of a young Bond at the very beginning of his journey in this standalone, re-imagined origin story for video games, navigating a world of global intrigue and earning his codename. The DualSense wireless controller’s adaptive triggers deliver precise responsiveness during gunfights, while haptic feedback places you in the middle of the action during explosive set pieces from the game. Learn more about 007 First Light and check out the latest trailer here.

Play Video

direct.playstation.com Purchase Information

Starting 7:00 am PT/10:00 am ET in the U.S., and 10:00 am local time in the U.K., France, Germany, Austria, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg, players will be able to pre-order the DualSense wireless controller – 007 First Light Limited Edition through direct.playstation.com in limited quantities. 

When ordering directly from PlayStation, enjoy free launch day delivery for eligible pre-orders. Visit direct.playstation.com for more details.

We wanted to make the most of the PS5 Pro’s cutting-edge technology by bringing 4K visuals, powered-up performance, advanced ray tracing, and more to the Cyberpunk 2077 experience. The goal was to bring the very best out of both the hardware and our game to make Night City shine as brightly as possible. With Cyberpunk 2077 currently available in the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog, anyone who owns a PS5 Pro can experience this enhanced version of our action role-playing game and fight to become a cyberpunk legend.

Let’s talk specifically about how this update enhances players’ experience, starting with PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR). This tech goes through each pixel, one by one, and upscales it using advanced artificial intelligence. The result is incredible, with every inch of Night City — every thermal katana, every gonk on the street, every supercharged sports car — coming to life.

Next is an upgrade to our ray tracing technology. Lighting is a key pillar of the Cyberpunk 2077 aesthetic — the way Night City lights up as day turns to dusk, when the streets glow under the oppressive neon signage of megacorps, is part of the entire visual identity of this world. With the PS5 Pro Update, we implemented BVH8 (8-way Bounding Volume Hierarchy) support to implement ray-traced lighting, shadows, and reflections, bringing the lighting even closer to our artistic vision for this world. Imagine the sunlight catching off the front fairing of your Yaiba Kusanagi CT-3X as you park up, depart down a mysterious dark alley, and uncover secrets glowing under neon light. Players’ overall immersion in the world of Cyberpunk 2077 gets a serious boost from PS5 Pro.

Speaking of ray tracing, more power also means more options. We know players have different priorities while gaming, so are happy to offer three distinct PS5 Pro modes that allow everyone to unlock an experience that suits them. Ray Tracing Pro enables all available ray tracing enhancements, delivering the most visually advanced version of Cyberpunk 2077 on PS5 Pro. This includes ray-traced reflections, ambient occlusion, skylight, shadows, and emissive lighting, all active while Cyberpunk 2077 targets 40 frames per second on variable refresh rate-enabled high frame rate displays or 30 frames per second otherwise.

On the other end of the spectrum, Performance mode focuses on delivering the highest possible frame rate for fast and fluid gameplay. On displays with VRR, Cyberpunk 2077 on PS5 Pro reaches up to 90 frames per second while maintaining high image fidelity. And finally, for those seeking the best of both, we designed Ray Tracing mode as the sweet spot between visuals and performance. It features select ray tracing enhancements while maintaining a smooth 60 frames per second, meaning improvements across the board.

We’re incredibly excited to bring this update to our players on PS5 Pro. The Cyberpunk 2077 community has been nothing short of incredible over the last five years, and we know many people have been keeping their fingers crossed for this update. Plus, with Cyberpunk 2077 currently available at no extra cost to PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium members through the Games Catalog, we’re hoping to welcome some new legends into Night City too. 

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your continued support of Cyberpunk 2077, and I wish new players the very best of experiences!

So, how did the idea start?

The initial spark came from the realization that I enjoy playing tile-laying board games but couldn’t find many video games built around such mechanics. I was telling myself: imagine if there was a forest tile, and when you place a “Lumber camp” tile next to it, you gain some wood, which you can then spend to build on another tile. And thus the core of Drop Duchy was born.

Once this basic idea was in place, I had ideas for many more buildings and terrains, but it also opened the door to many questions. Figuring out the answers took many iterations in the early phases of the project.

I opted for a medieval theme because I love this time period, but that begged the question: how do I fit combat into it? I tried different ideas before landing the final design but one thing that remained throughout was the mechanic of forcing the player to place enemy tiles, too (and making them think about how to negate their effect).

Then there were questions about the structure: how do you win or lose? When does it end? What makes each game varied? And the answers came naturally once we started introducing roguelite elements. Mechanics like procedural runs and having to draft your buildings from a random selection were making for diverse runs where you had to figure out a new strategy each time. The tension of losing your progress if you lost a fight added stakes to each decision.

From an outside perspective, Drop Duchy looked like a lot of mechanics at once, so we had to playtest heavily the early prototypes to make sure everything was intuitive and flowing smoothly from one part to the next. As a game developer, there is no better feeling than handing a controller to a friend and, instead of politely going “ok, this is a nice prototype,” they can’t stop playing for hours. I knew I had something good in my hands.

After pitching and signing with The Arcade Crew, I hired two artists to bring the game to life: Gautier & Tom. They worked in tandem to create the charming atmosphere of *Drop Duchy* while keeping the gameplay readable: we had to make sure you could immediately recognize the different terrains and buildings. One bold choice they made, for instance, was to use 2D trees, giving the game a diorama feel.

Meanwhile, the rest of the team and I spent most of the production adding lots of content to the game, new buildings, new game modes, new bosses, etc., and constantly playtesting to make sure the balance was in check.

For instance, we put a lot of effort into the design of factions, which are the “characters” you select before starting the run. Each faction brings its unique gameplay twists and specialties: The Republic builds a massive, sprawling city, and The Order can recruit and send crusaders on expeditions.

The Complete Edition that comes out on PS5 also includes the two additional factions we’ve added since release: the druids of the Tribe and the Vikings of The North. I’m really proud of how both factions ended up because their apparent “weaknesses” can be turned into fantastic strengths once the player figures out the right strategy.

On top of these factions, PlayStation players will be able to start their journey enjoying all the additions we’ve made since launch. We’ve added new bosses (including a mighty one that steals your buildings), a challenging ascension mode to test your skills, and endless runs if you want to push your deck to the limits. We’ve also used player feedback to introduce quality-of-life options (such as a button to undo accidental moves).

Looking back, it’s crazy to think that all of this started with a simple tile-laying prototype.

I’m incredibly proud of what the team and I built, and I can’t wait for you to experience it on PS5. Drop Duchy Complete Edition launches on April 21, so if you enjoy strategy games that reward experimentation and smart decisions, I think Drop Duchy will be right in your alley.

We’re introducing‘The Playerbase, a unique opportunity for PlayStation’s biggest fans to step into some of the biggest game worlds by having their likeness scanned and appear within a PlayStation game. The Playerbase will start with Gran Turismo 7, and we’ll be looking to expand and include fans in additional PlayStation Studios titles in the near future.

This community program will be available in select markets in the Americas, Europe, Asia, South Africa, and Australia. For more details, including the official rules, and to submit an application for The Playerbase, you can visit playstation.com/the-playerbase starting today at 7:00AM PT, where you’ll be asked to answer a few questions about your experiences on PlayStation. Players will also be required to sign in with their PlayStation account ID and share additional information to participate. 

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After reviewing applications, we’ll select a limited number of finalists to participate in video interviews to learn about them and their connection to PlayStation. From there, one PlayStation fan will be selected to be featured in Gran Turismo 7 as part of The Playerbase, where they will have a special limited-time appearance as an in-game character portrait, similar to how characters are presented throughout the game. The selected fan will also help design a custom Fantasy Logo and a one-of-a-kind vehicle livery which will be added permanently to the Showcase menu. They will be invited to a visual arts studio in Los Angeles for a scanning day and to collaborate with a designer to create their Fantasy Logo and vehicle livery.

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Over time, we look forward to expanding The Playerbase as additional PlayStation Studios participate, having fans featured in ways that fit each game’s own style and world. Stay tuned for more updates.

The Playerbase is our way of saying thank you to the players who make PlayStation what it is today. We can’t wait to meet the fans who will step into the world of PlayStation in a whole new way.

Sign up and submit your application for The Playerbase at playstation.com/the-playerbase, starting later today at 7 AM PT.