The Days of Awful Third-Party Controllers Are Over

A recent patent publication has revealed that Sony is working on a braille integration system for the PlayStation 5 controller, which would allow visually impaired players to use the PS5 controller touchpad to feel vibrations that can be read as braille. This latest patent joins a growing number of recent Sony patents targeting accessibility that have given audiences some insight into the company's research and development efforts.

Sony and developer Shift Up have confirmed that a playable demo for Stellar Blade will launch later this week, on Friday the 29th March. Of course, we all knew this was coming — the demo was actually released several weeks early, by mistake, on the PS Store. Sony pulled it offline as quickly as it could, but not before a bunch of people played through it.

There have been two big stories on the ground at GDC this year: Xbox’s flatlining brand and the purpose of the PS5 Pro. Speaking as part of a podcast, GamesIndustry.biz’s well-connected reporter Christopher Dring noted that he didn’t meet a “single person” at the show that understood the point of Sony’s mid-gen upgrade, which is rumoured to release later this year.

Sony first-party developer Bend Studios is staffing up for another «AAA live service» game, and it seems that PlayStation will continue to chase the live service dragon. When we last heard from the Oregan-based developer of Days Gone, Bend said it was still «cooking» and, if nothing else, seemed confident whatever they were working on would take the studio to the next level.

There's been a lot of chatter about this Stellar Blade demo recently. First, it was released accidentally, and although Sony took it back down pretty quickly, it wasn't fast enough to stop a few people playing and sharing footage online. So, we knew a demo was coming, and it wasn't much later that we got official confirmation. Now, the time has come: it's available to download and play right now on PS5. Those in the US can click here, and it's here for UK readers.

Although it's yet to be officially announced, we all know that the PS5 Pro is real, and it's likely dropping later this year. A mid-gen upgrade on the PS5, Sony will probably position the refreshed console as another premium product — something that it's been doing throughout the generation so far, with stuff like PS Portal and the DualSense Edge.

The latest game from Nioh studio Team Ninja, Rise of the Ronin is a PS5 exclusive, complete with Sony's backing. While it does continue the developer's run of creating challenging action RPGs, Ronin is set within a sprawling open world — which is a first for the team.

Arrowhead Game Studios warnsHelldivers 2 players to stop throwing snowballs during matches as using the items can cause the game to crash. The co-op shooter continues to be a massively popular title, thanks in large part to the ever evolving galactic war. Through major orders from the game master known as Joel, players are dynamically altering the Helldivers 2 battlefield, pushing back enemy factions or sometimes losing planets as well.

Players keen to try out Stellar Blade should mark March 29 on their calendars, as that's the day the demo will be available. The demo arrives a month before the game's official launch, providing a hands-on experience for players who want to test and see if Stellar Bladelives up to all its hype.

With Sony not releasing any major new titles for its existing PlayStation franchises before April 2025, all eyes are on the new IPs and third-party games. This could include Bend Studio’s next project, a new open-world triple-A IP that “builds on the deep open-world systems” from Days Gone.

The previously leaked Stellar Blade demo for PlayStation 5 will be made available later this week on Match 29.

PlayStation's Days Gone and Syphon Filter developer Bend Studio is seemingly working on a PlayStation live-service game.