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Sony’s been quietly and slowly growing the importance of State of Play for some time now, with its February 2026 broadcast quickly becoming the most viewed episode ever. But can it beat it next week?
The platform holder is poised to host its annual summer livestream on 2nd June, and it’s expected to be a big one.
Not only did the manufacturer reveal the event weeks in advance – a rarity for State of Plays, which are usually only confirmed a few days prior – but it’s also announced it’ll be beaming the pre-recorded broadcast into various theatres around the United States.
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We know the hour-long show will open with Marvel’s Wolverine, which alone will demand a huge amount of attention. Beyond that there are rumours of everything from a new God of War through to Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet.
Another advantage it has here is being loosely attached to the Summer Game Fest hype: while E3 no longer exists, this is the week when gamers know to pay attention to big gaming news. I think that works in State of Play’s favour.
As always, it’s worth keeping your expectations in check, but I do think there’s a good chance Sony obliterates its State of Play record here.
As alluded to above, the February 2026 livestream managed 3.4 million views, and only sits behind two PS5 reveal livestreams and the 2021 and 2023 iterations of the PS Showcase. Personally, I’m expecting this State of Play to blow past at least one of those.
It’s worth mentioning that a lot of people don’t tune in live to watch these kinds of events, and will likely catch up with games like Marvel’s Wolverine with separately uploaded trailers. Audiences will also be split across various different social media platforms and co-streams.
But that same disclaimer applies to all of the abovementioned broadcasts, so we’re comparing like for like here.
As I mentioned above, I think Sony’s finally got State of Play where it wants it to be. It took a long time for the branding to match the same kind of interest as, say, a Nintendo Direct or even the PS Showcase. But I think it’s finally there, and next week we’ll see viewing records be shattered.
What about you?