Over the past couple console generations, Sony has been rivaling Nintendo in terms of must-have first-party titles. From big-name hits like Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 to underrated gems like Returnal, the PlayStation 5 has welcomed exclusive banger after banger. They’ve consistently been in the running for end-of-year awards, and most recently Astro Bot won Game of the Year at the 2024 The Game Awards.

Sony has several high-profile exclusives in the pipeline, and we can’t wait to get our hands on them. Though “exclusives” aren’t so exclusive anymore (see: all the PS5 games Sony has released on PC and the Xbox titles making their way to the PS5 and Switch), for the purposes of this list, we’ll be calling something a “PlayStation” exclusive if it’s likely to come to the PS5 (or PS6!) before any other platform. Before games like Spider-Man and God of War Ragnarök came to PC, they were exclusive to Sony’s console for some time.

12 The Midnight Walk

The Midnight Walk brings together developers behind Lost in Random and Fe for a stylish and creepy adventure. 2021’s Lost in Random was a personal favorite and won me over with its weird, dark fantasy world, and The Midnight Walk looks to do the same. You’ll guide Potboy, a lantern creature, through that dark world while avoiding its monsters and horrors.

The Midnight Walk is unique in that its characters were hand-crafted clay figures before being scanned and turned into 3D models. This creates an interesting, almost-stop-motion-like animation style that’s instantly captivating (and creepy, based on the creatures we’ve seen so far). The Midnight Walk will also be releasing on PC and PS VR2, offering an immersive experience for those who prefer their first-person games to be truly first-person.

• Release Date: May 8, 2025

11 Lost Soul Aside

At first glance, Lost Souls Aside looks like a mixture of Final Fantasy aesthetics and Devil May Cry-like action, which makes sense as these titles were heavy influences on game director Yang Bing. He started as the game’s sole developer a decade ago before the game picked up traction with a 2016 trailer, ultimately leading to a publishing deal with Sony and a development staff working on the game.

“My goal was simple: make combat so fluid, fast, and stylish that you never want to put the controller down,” Bing wrote for PlayStation Blog. He also compared an aerial boss fight against a dragon to an “epic action movie,” so you know you’ll be in for some thrills with Lost Soul Aside. It won’t just be combat-focused, however, as Lost Souls Aside also promises a personal and dramatic story. Oh, and did I mention your companion is a shape-shifting dragon?

• Release Date: May 30, 2025

10 Death Stranding 2

Hideo Kojima stans won’t have to wait long for his next game as Death Stranding 2: On the Beach drops at the end of June. It once again returns a stacked cast with Norman Reedus, Léa Seydoux, and Troy Baker reprising their roles from the first game, and new faces include Elle Fanning and Luca Marinelli playing a character with more than just a passing resemblance to Metal Gear’s Solid Snake. Like Guillermo Del Toro in the first game, Mad Max creator George Miller will be lending his likeness to an NPC.

Story-wise, your guess is as good as mine as to where it’ll go. Gameplay-wise, expect to once again traverse beautiful environments as Sam Porter Bridges with cargo, and a baby, in tow. You’ll have to fend off otherworldly foes, as well as fellow humans, as Bridges. If you dig the story and lore but aren’t into the gameplay, don’t fret; Death Stranding 2 will include an easy mode, allowing you to skip boss fights and read about them in a visual novel format.

• Release Date: June 26, 2025

9 Ghost of Yōtei

After Sucker Punch’s massive success with Ghost of Tsushima, it only makes sense for the studio to follow it up with another open world game set in Japan–Ghost of Yōtei. It was announced in September 2024 with a 2025 release window and all signs point to it actually dropping this year (but, still, keep your fingers crossed), and it'll surely showcase the power of the PlayStation 5 and PS5 Pro. Ghost of Yōtei won’t continue Jin Sakai’s journey but instead takes place over 300 years later at the dawn of the Edo period.

It’ll follow Atsu as she “will hunt down those responsible for the death of her family and exact her revenge,” according to the game’s website. Parallels will surely be drawn to the recently released Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, both for being open world games set in Japan, but also for telling stories of revenge. Atsu will be played by Erika Ishii, known for their roles in Apex Legends as Valkyrie and Dragon Age: The Veilguard as Rook.

• Release Window: 2025

8 Saros

I will sing the praises of Returnal to anyone who wants to listen. An early PS5 title, Housemarque’s roguelike shooter is a beautiful, challenging, and fun-as-hell adventure through various alien biomes. Its bullet hell, third-person shooter gameplay was tremendously exciting, and its roguelike runs kept me on edge the entire time I played it. I can only hope Saros, the studio’s next title slated for 2026, achieves the same highs as Returnal.

Saros was revealed during Sony’s February 2025 State of Play, so we don’t know too much about it just yet. It’s a new IP from Housemarque that “evolves our deep third-person action and mysterious storytelling,” according to creative director Gregory Louden in a PlayStation Blog post. Expect it to be just as adrenaline-inducing as Returnal, though Saros will have a major change to its gameplay. After each death, you’ll be able to make permanent upgrades to your weapons and suit, ensuring each death isn’t in vain.

• Release Window: 2026

7 Marvel’s Wolverine

Insomniac isn’t limiting its Marvel output to just Spider-Man. Its next game will be about the man who’s the best there is at what he does (but what he does best isn’t very nice), Wolverine. We’ve been waiting quite a while to officially hear more about Marvel’s Wolverine since its 2021 announcement, though the unfortunate 2023 ransomware attack against Insomniac leaked glimpses at early builds and assets. The announcement trailer included several easter eggs, some hinting at a Madripoor setting, a lawless island in the Marvel universe frequently associated with the X-Men.

Wolverine has previously starred in an underrated game tying into a terrible film, X-Men Origins: Wolverine. He’s also popped up in ensemble games like Marvel Rivals, Midnight Suns, and Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order. It’ll be interesting to see how Insomniac adapts the mutant in a video game as his regenerative abilities always make for a tricky conundrum. I’ll also be curious as to just how violent Insomniac’s game wants to get–those aren’t butter knives he’s got poking outta his hands.

• Release Window: Likely 2026

6 Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet

Naughty Dog’s next game isn’t a new entry in its The Last of Us, Uncharted, or Crash Bandicoot series, but instead a new IP altogether–Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet. Announced at The Game Awards 2024, Intergalactic is “shaping up to be our wildest, most creative story yet,” according to Naughty Dog’s Neil Druckmann in the PlayStation Blog announcement. You play as a bounty hunter, Jordan, stranded on an isolated moon that no one has been able to leave in 600 years.

Based on the big laser sword Jordan wields, Intergalactic seems to be placing an emphasis on melee combat as opposed to The Last of Us and Uncharted’s third-person shooter gameplay. Its themes will tackle religion and faith while its world will be an alternate universe that diverged in the 1980s, which partly explains the retro-futuristic vibe of Jordan’s ship. We’ll unfortunately be waiting a bit for Intergalactic as a 2026 release feels optimistic and it could very well drop later, in 2027.

• Release Window: Likely 2026 or 2027

5 Marvel’s Spider-Man 3

Spoilers for the ending to Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 follow.

It hasn’t been formally announced just yet, but a third Marvel’s Spider-Man game is all but guaranteed by this point, and was seemingly revealed as part of the Insomniac leaks. If and when it does release, expect to wait a bit; there was a five-year gap between Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2, and don’t be surprised if Spider-Man 3 doesn’t drop until 2028. However, that wait will surely be worth it as the series gets better with each entry, adding more gameplay elements, and Spider-Man 2 even took the action across the East River and into Brooklyn and Queens.

Expect it to feature another Spider-Person beyond Peter Parker and Miles Morales as Cindy Moon, AKA Silk, was teased at the end of the second game. With Miles as Insomniac’s main Spider-Man now, it opens up storytelling opportunities for him to mentor Cindy like Peter mentored him. And we can only hope the rogues gallery expands too, with villains like the Green Goblin, Carnage, and the Chameleon showing up to battle the Spider-Men and Silk.

• Release Window: TBA–Possibly 2028

4 Final Fantasy VII third remake

Square Enix’s ambitious project to remake its most beloved Final Fantasy into a trilogy of games has been exceedingly strong so far. Both Remake and Rebirth have sold and reviewed well, and both games have been nominated for and received several year-end awards. Final Fantasy VII Remake will see a whole new audience soon when it launches on the Nintendo Switch 2 in what will surely be a showcase of (or stress test for) the Switch 2’s power.

While the third game doesn’t yet have an official title or release date, we do know it’s happening and is in active development. “I'm very satisfied with it, so I'm sure the fans will be satisfied with the final chapter,” series producer Yoshinori Kitase told Famitsu earlier in 2025 (via Eurogamer). Fans of the original 1997 game can likely guess how the remake trilogy’s story will end, but, as the new games haven’t been shy in deviating from the original, who knows what direction the third remake game will take.

• Release Window: TBA

3 The Last of Us Part III

The Last of Us has proven to be one of Sony’s marquee franchises, even though it’s relatively young compared to some other series like God of War or Uncharted, Naughty Dog’s other flagship franchise. However, just because The Last of Us games are critically well received, enjoyed by fans, sell well, and have spawned an HBO television series adaptation, we’re not guaranteed a third installment. Ellie, Abby, and Lev’s journeys across a Cordyceps-infected America have possibly ended with Part II.

Still, I can’t help but hope for more, even if Naughty Dog head Neil Druckmann told Variety I probably shouldn’t. The Last of Us games achieve a level of emotional storytelling not found in many other titles, and I selfishly want to be emotionally devastated again by a potential Part III. Add in excellent third-person shooting and stealth gameplay; beautiful environments and highly detailed character models; and the prospect of new game modes (like Part II’s No Return), and Naughty Dog would have a hit on its hands for the PlayStation 5 (or PS6, more likely).

• Release Window: TBA