A demo for upcoming PS5 console exclusiveForspokenhas been leaked.Forspokenhas had a rough marketing run since its announcement in June 2020 as one of the very first PlayStation 5 titles. The game has been delayed multiple times, originally being scheduled to launch in May 2022. Now, with its seemingly final release date of January 24th 2023 approaching, it seems a demo forForspokenwill soon be released, at least according to a leaked announcement from PlayStation Japan.Forspokenwas first announced at Sony’s Future of Gaming event in 2020 under the title of Project Athia. The game is the first original title fromFinal Fantasy 15developer Luminous Productionsand the first title since then to also use the studio’s proprietary Luminous Engine. Shortly after its announcement it was revealed that the game features writing fromRogue One: A Star Wars Storywriter Gary Whitta, withUnchartedwriter Amy Hennig penning an original draft of the story.RELATED:New Forspoken Deep Dive Explores AthiaDespite its potential and the pedigree of its creators,Forspokenhas been subject to much criticism throughout its marketing. Gameplay demonstrations have released to mixed reception and snippets of the game’s dialogue have resulted in memes mocking the game’s writing. Square Enix seems to have taken note of this response, as the publisher seems to be releasing an early demo forForspokenaccording to a deleted Tweet from PlayStation Japan. In the deleted Tweet, which was spotted by Twitter user @Renka_schedule, the Japanese PlayStation account shared a video thumbnail captioned “Demo Announcement Trailer.”
Square Enix has already announced thatForspokenwill receive an 11-minute gameplay live stream on December 9th. This is very likely to be where the publisher announces this upcoming demo for the game, which it seems is more or less confirmed to come to PlayStation 5. It’s not yet known whether the demo will release for PC, asForspokenis set to be PC and PS5 exclusive for at least two yearsthanks to the exclusivity deal between Square Enix and Sony.
Square Enix has a track record for being one of the few big publishers operating todayto still release demos for its major games ahead of release, many of which have gone on to influence features and fixes in the games before release likeOctopath Traveler. This year alone the publisher has released demos for games likeTriangle Strategy,Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin,The Diofield Chronicle, andValkyrie Elysium. This is a great move for a big budget game likeForspokenas playing the game might convince players that the game is worthwhile better than any trailer, especially whenForspoken’s trailers have been so divisive.
Forspokenwill release on PC and PS5 on January 24th 2023.
MORE:Forspoken: The Good and Bad Revealed So Far
