Hugely ambitious RPG planned for PlayStation 4 now set for PS5 10 years on

A PlayStation 4 game first announced in 2016 has just been reaffirmed to still be in development and is “really starting to take shape”, marking an unexpected comeback.

Raise your hand if you remember the untitled Project Awakening.

For those whose minds are a little rusty, Project Awakening is an upcoming open-world action RPG from Cygames.

It was first revealed at Cygames Next in Tokyo in August of 2016, before a gameplay tease was dropped behind closed doors at E3 2018.

Slated to launch on the PlayStation 4, devs certainly drummed up some hype around the RPG, citing Monster Hunter and Dragon’s Dogma as key influences.

Eventually, the PlayStation 4 era drew to a close, and we’re now, of course, almost six years into the lifecycle of the PlayStation 5.

It’s easy to assume that Project Awakening might’ve faded into oblivion, but it turns out that this technically ambitious title was just announced a little before its time.

Cygames’ president Koichi Watanabe recently spoke to Famitsu (via ComicBook), where he offered a key update on the game’s progress.

Watanabe said, “Development is, of course, steadily progressing. What I can say at the moment is that it is really starting to take shape. Everyone on the team is working each day with a real sense of confidence that things are coming together.”

Cygames

It’s not the most in-depth update, but it’s a joy to know that this assumed-lost game is still eventually set to be ours.

Watanabe’s admission that the game is “steadily progressing” doesn’t make it sound as if Project Awakening is anywhere near ready to cross the finish line.

It goes without saying that when Project Awakening does resurface in a more momentous manner, it’s definitely not going to be a PlayStation 4 exclusive.

It’ll likely be a PlayStation 5 exclusive, unless Cygames opts for a cross-platform release to maximise sales after what has been a very lengthy development period.

That’ll all depend on whether Project Awakening is financially backed by Sony, which may come with an exclusivity caveat.

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Project Awakening’s development can now “really accelerate”

We know very little about what Project Awakening offers beyond the promise of a sprawling open-world, a focus on combat, optional co-op play, and a high fantasy setting.

Cygames’ Tomino Kimihiro did tell CGWorld (translated by Wccftech) that production can now “really accelerate” with the game switching from the Cyllista engine to Unreal Engine 5.

Looking back, while Project Awakening may have missed the boat, the PlayStation 4 era will go down in history as one of the very best for Sony.

While photorealistic graphics aren’t the be-all and end-all of gaming, it certainly was a thrill to hit new technical heights during the PS4 era.

Many still herald games like The Last of Us Part II as some of the best-looking out there.

PlayStation's first-party releases like Marvel’s Spider-Man, Horizon Zero Dawn, and Ghost of Tsushima kick-started a new mainstay series of the brand.

Elsewhere, ongoing franchises continued to delight with strong outputs. Santa Monica revived its most famous IP with 2018’s God of War, while Naughty Dog treated players to Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, and The Last of Us Part II.

Disc copies were regularly available. We had it so good.

When Project Awakening does land, it’ll do so in a very different landscape, but let’s hope it brings some of that PS4 magic back to gaming.