PlayStation Reveals 30th Anniversary Celebration Plans

Sony is getting ready to celebrate 30 years of PlayStationwith an array of special events and content starting later this month. The original PlayStation console was released in Japan on December 3, 1994, and would make it to other territories like North America, Europe, and Australia throughout the following year. The console helped to usher in a new era of 3D console gaming alongside the Nintendo 64 and spawned a plethora of now-iconic franchises like Tomb Raider, Crash Bandicoot, Tekken, and Gran Turismo.

Four console generations later, PlayStation remains one of the big three gaming platforms along with Nintendo and Xbox, with the PlayStation 5 quickly becoming the fastest-selling system in the brand’s long history following its release in 2020. 2024 marks the 30th anniversary of the original PlayStation’s Japanese launch, and first-party Sony developer Team Asobi is celebrating this milestone with the upcoming Astro Bot. Set to launch on the PS5 later this week, Astro Botfeatures cameos from numerous PlayStation characters and gameplay that harkens back to the mascot-based PlayStation platformers of old.

Astro Botisn’t the only celebration of PlayStation’s rich history this year, as Sony recently announced its plans for the gaming brand’s 30th anniversary throughout the remainder of 2024 going into 2025. Later this holiday season, Sony will release a free trial version of Gran Turismo 7containing cars, tracks, and race events inspired by the original game. Titled My First Gran Turismo, this trial will be available on both PS4 and PS5, with more details to be revealed at a later date.

Sony Celebrates 30 Years of PlayStation in 2024

In the meantime, nostalgic PlayStation fans will soon be able to rock out to their favorite game soundtracks thanks to a new Sony Music collaboration that will run from October to January. Digital soundtracks for God of War​, God of War 2​, God of War: Ghost of Sparta, Twisted Metal, Starhawk​, and Unit 13will be streamed on Spotify and available to purchase on digital storefronts like Amazon Music and Apple Music. Additionally, a PlayStation 30th Anniversary Playlist is now available to stream on Spotify.

Sony is also launching a collection of products called “Shapes of Play,” which will launch in December 2024 exclusively through the PlayStation website. Designed by the same team behind PlayStation consoles and inspired by the iconic PlayStation button symbols, these products include Shapes of Play: Battle, a board game in which players line up shapes of the same color. Shapes of Play: Create features magnetic blocks that can be arranged in fun designs, and Shapes of Play: Recharge is a collection of stress balls that help a player to unwind after a challenging boss battle.

Finally, Sony is hosting a free multiplayer weekend and esports tournaments to celebrate PlayStation’s many online multiplayer games. Set to run on September 21 and 22, this weekend will allow fans to enjoy online multiplayer for games they own without needing a PlayStation Plus membership. At this time, Sony will also hold a series of PS5 tournaments for titles like NBA 2K24, NBA 2K25, Madden NFL 24, MLB The Show 24, EA UFC 5, Tekken 8, and Guilty Gear Strive. Participants can win a special 30th anniversary-themed PlayStationavatar and other game-based prizes.