PlayStation’s State of Play and Showcase rumored for before June

Insider Jeff Grubb claims that PlayStation’s State of Play event and pre-E3 showcase will take place in the first half of this year, with State of Play happening just next month.

The details:

• Grubb stated on the latest episode of the Game Mess Decides podcast that a State of Play is just around the corner and will most likely take place in March, if not sooner. Sony is also rumored to be holding its own showcase ahead of E3, which it will miss for the fourth consecutive year.
• The State of Play will be "pretty low-key," according to Grubb, with PlayStation saving the big announcements for its showcase later this year. We don't know what the announcements will be, but given Sony's recent quietness, we can expect something along the lines of release dates or trailers for The Last of Us Factions, Death Stranding 2, and Marvel's Spider-Man 2.
• Grubb also stated that these events will be part of PlayStation "reloading and relaunching" its marketing campaigns "very quickly," as rivals Xbox and Nintendo recently hosted Developer_Direct and Nintendo Direct events, respectively.

In other PlayStation news:

• Sony installed a massive replica of God of War's Leviathan Axe in central London last month as part of its "Live from PS5" marketing campaign. However, Sony's effort for the two-day stunt has some fans wondering if it could be hinting at a larger God of War-related announcement, possibly at one of the upcoming events.
• Guerrilla Games at PlayStation is currently working on several Horizon projects, including Forbidden West DLC, the PS VR2 exclusive Call of the Mountain, and a new multiplayer offering. Job openings for positions working on the project suggest that the game may receive a mobile release, with the game's heavily stylized appearance possibly a move to ensure the game runs on mobile hardware.
• The PlayStation VR2 will be available on February 22, 2023. PlayStation has released an unboxing video ahead of the headset's release, showing players what will be included in the box and what design features have been made for the successor. Within the first month of its release, the PS VR2 will receive 37 titles, including 13 new games. You can read our round-up of the games here.