PlayStation State of Play: Start time, where to watch, and what to expect

Move over Nintendo. It's Sony's time to shine. Following last week's big, but polarizing, Nintendo Direct, Sony is dropping a new State of Play this week. The 30-minute video is set to shed some light on a handful of games coming to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. Naturally, that has fans anticipating some big news on games like God of War and Horizon Forbidden West ... and even the mysterious Elden Ring.

If the recent Nintendo Direct taught us anything, it's to keep our expectations in check. The State of Play event could be a big deal or it could just give players a collection of smaller updates. We think it might be a mix of the two, but it'll be worth watching either way. Here's everything you need to know about the livestream.

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What is Sony's PlayStation State of Play?

The "State of Play" title seems to riff on something akin to the State of the Union, but it's a digital presentation that Sony conducts several times a year to offer major announcements related upcoming games and, in some cases, consoles. The October 2020 event offered an extensive look at the PlayStation 5 a month before its release. Before that, an August 2020 Stat of Play focuses on games like Godfall and Hood: Outlaws & Legends.

They ultimately serve a similar function to Nintendo Directs.

When is the February 2021 PlayStation State of Play stream?

The broadcast goes live on Thursday, February 25 at 5 p.m. Eastern. It will be a 30-minute livestream presentation that will (almost certainly) be available to watch on-demand afterward. But of course, you'll probably want to watch it live if you can to keep up with the internet's reaction, right?

Where can I watch the PlayStation State of Play stream?

You have two options for watching the presentation: You can either pop over to PlayStation's Twitch or YouTube channel. Pick your poison and hang out on your video platform of choice when 5 p.m. rolls around.

What games will be at the PlayStation State of Play stream?

Officially, we know that the stream will feature 10 games, though we don't know exactly what they are. All we know is that they'll be PS4 and PS5 games, and will include a mix of new announcements and updates on indies and third-party titles shown at Sony's June State of Play event. That last detail gives us a lot to go off of.

There are a few obvious games that seem like they'll show up based on that information. Ratchet & Clack: Rift Apart and Returnal are the PS5's next big games, so they'll likely show up. Sony Interactive CEO Jim Ryan just reaffirmed that Horizon Forbidden West is coming this year in an interview with GQ, so there's at least a 50/50 chance that shows up as well.

Realistically, we can probably expect indies like Stray, Goodbye Volcano High, and Solar Ash to appear. There's also a chance we get an official release date for Grand Theft Auto V's next-gen update or a release date for Oddworld Soulstorm. Granted, there are only 10 games being shown, so we probably won't get all of that, but those seem like the most likely culprits at this point.

What games won't be at the PlayStation State of Direct?

While anything is possible, we can take a few educated guesses on this one. Gran Turismo 7 was just delayed into 2022, so it's unlikely that it shows up. Sony also casually announced major delays for Project Athia and Pragmata back at CES, so those two seem unlikely as well.

The big game on everyone's mind? God of War: Ragnarok. Back in June, Sony revealed a logo for the latest installment of the series with a vague 2021 date attached. We've heard nothing about the game since then, leaving fans to wonder if it's actually coming out this year. While we won't say it's impossible, it does seem unlikely that Kratos appears at the moment. Game Director Cory Barlog seemed to foreshadow that God of War won't appear when he tweeted that the State of Play stream announcement was news to him.

Is he trolling? He's done it before, so he certainly could be. But when one fan questioned his sincerity, Barlog tweeted, "My resting state is meme-y so don't read too much into that." Don't get your hopes up for this one. But you never know, right?

Sony's next PlayStation State of Play will air Thursday, February 25 at 5 p.m. Eastern