Gaming in 2022: PS5 Spartacus, PSVR 2, Steam Deck, Xbox cloud, Sonic and more

Gaming in 2022 is going to mean many things. It means super-powered portables and cute handhelds. It means still still struggling to get graphics cards for sensible prices. It means Cyberpunk 2077 actually being good on the PS5 and Xbox Series X. But most of all it means many more hours of sheer gaming joy. 2022 will bring us some brilliant blockbusters and some incredible indies, and it’ll also bring us lots of new things to play those games on and with.

Here’s what we’re excited about for gaming in 2022.

Gaming in 2022: hardware heaven

Let’s start with the hardware. The desperate shortage of PS5 and Xbox Series X consoles should finally end as Christmas becomes a memory – in the meantime we have a PS5 stock tracker and an Xbox Series X restock tracker to help you – and we’ll have some new hardware to be delighted by too: the Steam Deck is currently due for launch in February to bring Steam gaming everywhere, and the cute, crank-controlled Playdate is due in 2022 too.

One of the most interesting bits of gaming hardware in 2022 is the PSVR 2, the second generation of Sony’s virtual reality platform. Unless the release date slips again it should be with us this year, with a single cable connection, new controllers and effectively 4K resolution.

Less dramatic but no less important, HDMI 2.1 will be a much bigger deal this year. The technology started to filter down from the high end to more affordable monitors, but the best 4K TVs and best gaming monitors with HDMI 2.1 are still quite pricey. Expect that to change as 2022 progresses.

We’ll also see some fun gaming hardware, such as the Amiga A500 Mini. That’s due in March and it’s a tiny recreation of the 1980s personal computer with built-in Amiga games and the ability to add your own via USB stick. 2022 will also bring us the Intellivision Amico, which brings modern tech to the old Intellivision family gaming console.

Last but not least, we’ll see all kinds of new products in our best gaming keyboards, best gaming mouse, best gaming chairs, best gaming headsets and best gaming monitor guides – especially once the semiconductor shortage begins to fade.

Gaming in 2000: crypto-a-go-go

That’s the good news on the hardware front. Now for the bad. The graphics card shortage shows no sign of abating, and the best graphics cards remain hard to buy. 

As if that wasn’t bad enough, the people using all those GPUs to make electric internet money have come up with another bad idea: NFTs. Think of in-game NFTs as loot boxes that destroy the climate; in the closing weeks of December 2021 developers such as Ubisoft and GSC Game World were facing a serious backlash from gamers over their plans to include NFTs as in-game purchases. At the time of writing, GSC has pulled NFTs from the upcoming S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 and Valve has blocked NFTs on Steam.

Gaming in 2022: Steam and Game Pass vs Sony

Microsoft’s Game Pass remains the gaming bargain of the decade – we’re writing this between Halo: Infinite sessions – and Sony has finally decided to take it on. Project Spartacus will combine elements of PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now, offering PS4 and PS5 games as well as deep cuts from the PlayStation’s back catalogue. It’s expected to launch in the spring and cost the same as Game Pass. 

Gaming in 2022: the best games on every platform

Here are just a few we’re excited about: God of War on Windows and Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves on PS5 (January); Dying Light 2 Stay Human, Elden Ring and Destiny 2: The Witch Queen on everything, and Horizon: Forbidden West on PS4/PS5 (February); Gran Turismo 7 on PS4/PS5 (March); S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 on Windows and Xbox S|X (April); the Saints Row reboot on every platform in August; Bethesda’s Starfield on Xbox and PC in November; and an absolute ton of new games expected in 2022 but without a confirmed launch date. That includes Baldur’s Gate III, Bayonetta 3, Company of Heroes 3, the next-gen console versions of Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3, the Dead Space reboot, Earth Defense Force 6, Ghostwire: Tokyo, God Of War Ragnarök, a sequel to Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Splatoon 3 and many more.

Gaming in 2022: films from favourite franchises

Could 2022 be the year that finally brings us a great film based on a great game? No, not Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (April) or the currently untitled Mario movie (December). Uncharted comes to the silver screen in February 2022, directed by Ruben Fleischer. Fleischer is best known for directing Zombieland, Zombieland: Double Tap and Venom, and he’s cast Tom Holland as Nathan Drake with Mark Wahlberg as his mentor Sully. We have high hopes. 

We’re also hoping that the 2022 Borderlands movie, helmed by Eli Roth, will take its comedy cues from the earlier games and not the trying-too-hard Borderlands 3. Still, with Jack Black as Claptrap it’s going to be worth a watch.

We’ll also see some new shows based on games, most notably The Last Of Us. Expect to see PUBG and Splinter Cell on your streaming highlights this year too.