The first PlayStation console released on December 3, 1994 and since that moment the PlayStation brand has been a major player in home entertainment. With the brand's 30th anniversary on the horizon this year, it's no surprise to hear that Sony has a few things planned to celebrate the three decade milestone with fans.
First up will be the release of Astro Bot on Friday, September 6th. This adventure platformer once again offers multiple tributes to "30 years of iconic PlayStation characters, stories, and magical moments." If you played Astro's Playroom on the PlayStation 5, you have a bit of an idea on what to expect as that game was full of PlayStation history already.
Good news here is that Astro Bot has been earning some phenomenal scores and is, so far, one of the highest scoring games of the year.
If that wasn't enough, Sony has additional celebrations planned as the 30th anniversary approaches. Today, Sony put up a new PlayStation Blog that talks about "some" of the ways that they're going to celebrate the 30th anniversary of PlayStation. By that wording, I would expect there to be more events and freebies announced as we get nearer to that December anniversary window!
First thing mentioned is My First GT. This will be a free trial version of Gran Turismo 7 that includes cars, tracks, and events that "evoke the nostalgia and excitement for the very first GT experience." This will be available to all PS4 and PS5 owners this holiday.
Sony's PlayStation division is also collaborating with Sony Music to release a new set of digital soundtracks from fan-favorite franchises each month from October through January. The soundtracks will hit places such as Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music, and more. The confirmed soundtracks include:
- God of War
- God of War II
- God of War: Ghost of Sparta
- Twisted Metal
- Starhawk
- Unit 13
There will also be a new collection of products called Shapes of Play. These will be physical items featuring some familiar PlayStation shapes. While not launching until December 2024, pre-orders are live right now through PlayStation Direct.
- Shapes of Play: Battle is a board game where you can challenge a friend to line up four different shapes of the same color on the board to win.
- Shapes of Play: Create is a set of magnetic blocks that you can position in any direction to create fun shapes.
- Shapes of Play: Recharge lets you experience a new way to recharge between games, especially after that tough boss battle.
During the same weekend, we’ll host a series of PS5 esports tournaments, featuring titles like NBA 2K24, NBA 2K25, Madden NFL 24, MLB The Show 24, EA UFC 5, Tekken 8, and Guilty Gear Strive. If you own any of these games and qualify, you can compete on Sept 21 and 22 to win a special 30th anniversary-themed avatar and other game-specific prizes. Players on PS5 can sign up via the Game Hub or the in-game PlayStation Tournaments button. Keep an eye on compete.playstation.com for all the upcoming tournament details.
