Sony Hit with French Fine for Allegedly Manipulating PS4 Controller Market | Push Square

Another year has come to an end, so now it's time to look back and evaluate arguably the most important Push Square feature of the 12 months: the PS5, PS4 predictions we made back in January. The Push Square editorial team set three predictions in stone, and now we get to see if any of them came true. Last year's winner was assistant editor Robert Ramsey with two out of three correct guesses, but can he turn that winning feeling into a streak? Let's find out.

Our Game of the Year coverage continues with the Best PS5, PS4 Developer of 2023, of which a top four has been put together by the Push Square editorial team. Here we'll crown the best studio of the year and recognise teams that have gone above and beyond for their titles, from releasing lots of games within the 12-month period to those supporting them after launch.

Dragon's Dogma 2 and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth are easily two of the most anticipated titles of 2024 — and they'll be here before you know it. Expectations are sky high for both action RPGs given previous efforts, and so to get the hype machine well and truly rolling, Capcom and Square Enix have posted brand new artworks (in vastly different styles).

In unsurprising news, publisher Square Enix has announced a bold new vision for the company in 2024, again promising to chase whatever the hottest speculative technology on the market happens to be. President Takashi Kiryu rang in the new year with a bold directive, confirming the firm will be «aggressive in applying AI and other cutting-edge technologies to both our content development and our publishing functions».

Fans of Guerilla's ever-growing Horizon franchise might be pleased to learn that that long-rumoured MMORPG spinoff, «Project Skyline», seems to still be in active development. They might be less thrilled to discover there's nothing to suggest it's coming to PS5 outside of being a Horizon game, expected to launch on PC and mobile in 2025 at the earliest.

Sony’s first press conference of 2024 is just days away, but perhaps don’t set your expectations too high. The Consumer Electronics Show will get underway next week, and as is always the case, the Japanese giant will host its own press conference. While we’d expect references to PlayStation, the focus on the event will be to “showcase various technologies and initiatives that support creators, based on Sony's purpose to fill the world with emotion, through the power of creativity and technology”.

If you spent money on the PS Store this holiday – and, look, there’s a strong chance you did – then you’re probably pondering what has happened to your PS Stars loyalty points. For those who don’t know, PS Plus users are meant to earn credits for every buck they spend on Sony’s storefront, which can then be exchanged for free games or currency.

Gran Turismo Sport has been delisted from the PlayStation Store, but it seems a little ahead of schedule. Polyphony Digital's PS4 exclusive was set to get the chequered flag for its online component at the end of January, after a slow sunsetting of DLC starting in December, offline modes remaining playable.

The decisions made by outgoing Activision CEO Bobby Kotick actively made Call of Duty games worse. That's according to Christina Pollock a programmer who previously worked on the series. Pollock, along with many other former colleagues, made their feelings regarding the controversial exec known on social media once it was confirmed he had definitely left the building.

In an age of successful movies based on video game characters like Mario, Sonic, and Nathan Drake, it was perhaps inevitable that we would get a Minecraft movie starring Jack Black as unassuming player-insert Steve. The actor confirmed the casting on Instagram in a suitably silly style; the film is targeting a 2025 release.

Our individual Game of the Year articles allow our lovely team of writers to share their own personal PS5 and PS4 picks for 2023. Today, it's the turn of news reporter and reviewer Khayl Adam.

Lies of P is one of 2023's most pleasant surprises. It's a twisted take on the classic tale of Pinnochio, incorporating elements made famous by FromSoftware's Dark Souls series. Korean newcomer Neowiz Games knocked it out of the park with its debut, delivering some competent competition and the closest thing to a Bloodborne successor we've seen to date.