Gotham Knights, Final Fantasy, Resident Evil and everything else we expect to see in tonight's State of Play

20-minute livestream is expected to focus on Japanese publishers... for the most part

Shiva in Final Fantasy XVI, Ghostwire Tokyo, Batgirl in Gotham Knights
(Image credit: Square Enix / Tango Gameworks / WB Games)

Update: Sony's latest State of Play has now taken place with announcements from Square Enix, Capcom and more. There was a lot more new IP than anticipated. You can now watch the full live stream below or catch up on everything that was announced in our roundup, including Exoprimal, Final Fantasy, Returnal, Ghostwire: Tokyo, and more.

Original Story: Sony has confirmed that it will host its latest State of Play broadcast today with a focus on new games coming to PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4. 

The livestream is set to take place officially on March 9th from 2PM PT / 5PM ET / 11:00PM CET across the official PlayStation Twitch and YouTube channel. Sony has confirmed that the majority of titles shown off at the event will be from Japanese publishers and there will be no further updates on PSVR 2, be that software or hardware. 

"The show is clocking in around 20 minutes, give or take, with a special focus on highlighting great games coming from some of our beloved Japanese publishers, though we’ll have a few updates from other developers located around the world, too," wrote Sony Interactive Entertainment content communications specialist Kristen Zitani in an official PS blog post.  

Sony last held a State of Play event focused on Gran Turismo 7 in February: 

So, now that we have an idea of the parameters for announcements at the State of Play event, what do we expect to see? Let's first start off by saying that these are educated guesses and it's always best to keep expectations low to avoid disappointment. It's also only 20 minutes long. Don't be mad at us when God of War: Ragnarok or Spider-Man 2 doesn't show up (neither of which we expect, in all honesty).

What we do expect to see is Ghostwire Tokyo from Tango Gameworks and Bethesda Softworks. The action-adventure is console exclusive to the PS5, so it makes all the sense in the world to give the game one final push ahead of its release on March 22nd. 

Similarly, now that Square Enix has delayed Forspoken until October later this year, this would be the perfect time to pull back the curtain on Final Fantasy XVI. With the game being another PS5 exclusive and several rumours pointing to a release in 2022, could this be the big deep dive to end the livestream? For reference, Final Fantasy VI launched in November 2016. 

Capcom is another that could show up. Street Fighter 6 is a possibility but with rumours of a Resident Evil 4 remake doing the rounds and Resident Evil: Village DLC previously confirmed, one of these seems more probable. As Capcom and Sony have a close relationship, this is more of a when than if. It's also worth remembering that Resident Evil 3 remake was announced at a State of Play in December 2019. 

Another Japanese publisher that would get people talking is Kojima Productions. Headed up by Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima, the studio hasn't unveiled anything since the release of 2019's Death Stranding, aside from a rumour pointing to a PSVR 2 project. We all know the studio is working on something, whether that be a sequel to Death Stranding or a new IP, it's just what exactly remains a mystery. Now feels like the right time for an announcement 

Finally, while not Japanese, Sony did mention a few updates from other studios. The big two that could appear are Gotham Knights and Hogwarts Legacy from Warner Bros. It feels as if only one of these will show up, and while rumours persist surrounding the Harry Potter spinoff rumours, I think Gotham Knights will more likely be put in the spotlight... that is if the game isn't delayed. Already Rocksteady's Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League has been pushed back to 2022 and no doubt WB will want Gotham Knights out to take advantage of The Batman hype. 

Ironically, WB Games has just confirmed ahead of the video stream that Gotham Knights will officially launch on October 25th, 2022. There's still a chance we get a new trailer. 

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Finally, a new State of Play could be the perfect opportunity for Sony to reveal Project Spartacus, its rumoured rival to Xbox Game Pass. The biggest hint that the service is incoming took place in January when Sony began removing PS Now retail cards. We'll just have to wait and see what happens.

PlayStation's State of Play event will begin streaming at 2PM PT / 5PM ET / 11:00PM CET across Sony's official channels. T3 will be rounding up all of the announcements, so make sure to come back for all of the latest news. 

Matt Poskitt
Freelance Writer

Matt is a freelance writer for T3, covering news and keeping up with everything games, entertainment, and all manner of tech. You can find his work across numerous sites across the web, including TechRadar, IGN, GamesRadar, Tom's Guide, Fandom, NME, and more. In his spare time, Matt is an avid cinema-goer, keen runner and average golfer (at best). You can follow him @MattPoskitt64