PlayStation Reportedly Working on New Animal Crossing Competitor to Release in 2027
A new report has claimed that PlayStation is working on its own response to Nintendo’s Animal Crossing series, and it could be released in 2027. Over the past decade, PlayStation has primarily specialized in third-person action games from its own studios. Titles like God of War, Marvel’s Spider-Man, The Last of Us Part II, Horizon Forbidden West, and even the recently released Marvel’s Wolverine have all fit into this format, with countless others included as well. And while PlayStation has dipped its toe into other genres at times, it now sounds as though it will be releasing a game that has been very rarely seen throughout the brand’s history.
According to a new report from MP1st, developer Media Molecule, which is the studio behind LittleBigPlanet and Dreams, is working on a new social sim that is inspired by Animal Crossing and Harvest Moon. Details on the project are slim, but it’s claimed that this new game won’t be a live-service title, as many other projects from PlayStation in recent years have been. As for its release, Media Molecule is said to be targeting both a reveal and launch in 2027, but these plans could end up changing.
Although this is a bit of a surprising move from PlayStation, the fact that Media Molecule is the one developing the game makes everything much more logical. Since being acquired by PlayStation back in 2010, Media Molecule has made some of the most unique games to come from the publisher. While many of these games have gone on to be quite popular and influential, others, such as 2020’s Dreams, have made much less of an impact.
Assuming that this project is real, it will be interesting to see if it puts an emphasis on creator-made content. LittleBigPlanet and Dreams, in particular, heavily focused on the ability for players to create their own levels and games. While such a mechanic might not make as much sense within the trappings of a social sim experience, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Media Molecule find a way to include these types of features within the game.
For now, the only games that we know for certain are set to be released by PlayStation Studios in 2027 include God of War Laufey and Until Dawn 2. Naughty Dog’s upcoming game Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet is widely reported to be launching in the coming year as well, but PlayStation itself has yet to verify as much. Whenever we learn more about what’s on the horizon for PlayStation in 2027 and beyond, we’ll be sure to bring that news to you here on ComicBook.