Ever since its reveal last year, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart has been billed as a game releasing during the PlayStation 5 launch window. That term has always been a bit vague, with some taking it to mean the first few weeks of the console's lifecycle while others may stretch it out as far as six months. For context, Sony considered inFAMOUS: Second Son a launch window title for the PlayStation 4, and it hit the last-gen system in late March — five months after the machine hit store shelves.
So, where does that leave Insomniac Games' second PS5 title? Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart hasn't been shown off in any meaningful manner for quite a while now, and given the fact that PS5 exclusives Destruction AllStars and Returnal take up the next couple of months, it's tough to see the Lombax actually hitting that launch window timeframe anymore.
One of the issues with pondering this very question is simply how unclear the "launch window" term is. Everyone interprets it differently, so it's hard to nail down exactly when the Japanese giant is thinking of putting Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart out following the phrase's use. Maybe that's on purpose. Is it still a launch window game if the Marvel's Spider-Man studio launches the game in May, or even June? We'd argue it's not, but we're sure there are others out there who would back the cause. And if you fall on the opposite end of the spectrum where a console's release window ends a handful of weeks after it hits the market, then that window of opportunity has most certainly passed.
Then there's the conundrum of releasing PS5 exclusives too close together. While it's not really the biggest hitter, Sony will surely want to promote Destruction AllStars as it hits PlayStation Plus next month — it will be free for the vast majority of PS5 owners, after all. March is quiet for the hardware manufacturer now that Returnal has been delayed, and with the month of February starting this coming Monday, there's no way Sony will release Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart then. Time needs to be made for marketing to the wider public. April seems to be a no go too now that Housemarque's PS5 exclusive takes up residency on the 30th.
So, when will the big PS5 title in question hit? A summer launch is sounding very likely at this point, especially so when you throw in the work from home situation. That's perfectly okay from where we're standing, but it feels like the much-lauded "release window" badge is no more for Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. At least that's what we reckon.
When do you think Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart will release? Will it fall within the undetermined parameters of the PS5 launch window or will it arrive later? Place your vote in our poll and share your thoughts in the comments below.
Comments 72
Launch window should mean something like within 6 months from launch. Anything after that is technically closer to a second year release than a launch day release; so it doesn't really make much sense to call that a 'launch window' anymore.
Ratchet and Clank is my fave franchise of all time, so of course would love for Rift Apart to remain set for launch window... But given the continued global situation, I'd expect it's pushed back a bit.
I'll be patient! No rush!
(plus got all these PS4 backlog games that now run better on PS5 to still get through!)
Nope. I’m not sure whether there is a specific definition of “launch window”, but this certainly isn’t it. I would say a few weeks rather than a few months.
This is my most anticipated Exclusive (so far) love me some R&C ! Hopefully we get a June release date considering nothing usually comes out during the summer.
No is the answer
I'm going to say it's coming in May or June. They were probably targeting earlier in the year, but obviously coronavirus will have impacted their plans a bit.
Considering there's no official length of what constitutes a launch window there's no right objective answer. Add to that PS5 consoles 3 months after launch are not available to buy freely or at will. At the point where PS5 are in constant distribution I would argue that would be the philosophical start of the launch window.
Anyway its a pretty pointless question. Console generations have slowly been getting longer each time and their lifetimes extend well into the subsequent generation (apart from MS consoles. Until now they dropped their old consoles like a stone when a new one came out). The last PS3 was made 18 months after PS4 launched. If a console has a near decade lifespan its not a stretch to consider Year 1 as a launch window.
Yeah I think they're waiting for the PS5 shortage to end, since this game will be an exclusive, and not cross-gen. Somebody said it somewhere else, but you can only sell as many games at launch as people who have consoles, and right now that ain't too many!
@Grumblevolcano Look grumble, they took all of our comments from yesterday and made an article out of them. 😂
C&P since they seem to work better here. 😉 --
Still waiting on my Ratchet & Clank bundle.
Wondering if they are delaying the release of PS5 only - unlike all the multiplats - R&C until more people can buy the PS5? Can realistically only sell as many copies as consoles. 🤷♂️
Well at least *Returnal got a date. And then another date. Still waiting on as far as I can tell the only big new 1st party game for the PS5 launch Ratchet & Clank. #RatchetandClankWhen
Sorry if I missed any other console seller PS5 only games but in my head they are all either ports, remasters or dual releases. Not that you can't buy a new $500 console for those, but Sony believes in generations so... 😛
https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2020/09/sony_believes_in_generations_but_confirmed_a_bunch_of_ps5_games_for_ps4
Yeah but I doubt they delayed Returnal a month until the install base got bigger. Returnal is the game you sell ASAP before any other games come out so people buy it while there is nothing else to play. Like 1 2 Joycon.
R&C is a system seller, but you need to have systems to sell. Which may not be out until later in the year.
If they announce R&C for mid-April that can't be good for Returnal sales w/ this delay. Don't think they'd delay R&C to help out Returnal though.
I do think R&C could be close to done but they are waiting on the date until PS5 systems become more readily available. Not 2nd half of 2021 but maybe May?
I bought a Wi U for "launch window" Pikmin 3 which released 8 months later, the following August.
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2012/09/round_up_wii_u_launch_window_games
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2012/10/pikmin_3_sprouting_for_spring_2013_release_in_north_america
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2012/12/pikmin_3_and_animal_crossing_new_leaf_drop_into_q2_2013
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2013/04/pikmin_3_arrives_in_north_america_on_4th_august
Got 1st post on that last one. R&C is my new Pikmin 3. And Pikmin 4. 😉
Wow, this is gonna be 1 heckuva long post. Wondering if it fits? And reply...
Launch window imo should be 3 months - 6 months just to tick boxes I guess from a corporate perspective but by that point for me, a shiny launch console is by 3 months typically has lost its "new" veneer.
Given how much demand and lack of apparent supply there is I guess we can stretch that out to 6-9 months based on the issues with covid and production issues.
Holiday 2021
@Ear_wiG I keep seeing people suggest this but that logic doesn’t sit well with me, Sony would be selling MORE copies of Rachet the sooner it gets released, not less. Waiting to release the game when there’s “more PS5’s in the wild” ensures that the people who would buy it NOW (like me) could potentially miss out when it does release. On flip side, releasing it now means everyone who has a PS5 will no doubt buy the game to be included in hype and anyone who doesn’t have a PS5 will be looking to get the game as soon as they have the system!
As long as Pushsquare keeps calling PS5 'next-gen', I consider it 'launch window'.
If it’s not available at launch, it shouldn’t be called a ‘launch’ anything IMO. Just call it an early release on the new platform. ‘Launch Window’ is misleading and asking for trouble.
I say june with GT7 coming in july/august
For me maybe 3 months is launch window. We would at least need a date by now if it was launch window.
Calling something a "launch window release" is meaningless if we don't know how wide that space of time supposedly is. With that said, I don't see any logic in extending the "launch window" timeframe beyond the system's first six months on the market at absolute most.
Although, IMO, I'd say the three months of a system's life is its "launch window." Beyond that, it's just a first-year release.
May i reckon, maybe towards the end though to avoid overlapping Resi 8. Does that count as within launch window? I think its pushing it, but i think we can forgive insomniac given they've already put out Miles Morales and Spider-Man remastered in time for launch
@2cents Historically games make the vast majority of their sales in the first month. Few games have long tails in their sales numbers and become less profitable in terms of unit sales as the price inevitably drops.
@Mysterio I feel like calling new consoles "next gen" is fair for about a year. For most people they don't have one and many games are coming out cross gen. After that, it really sounds weird to use a future tense phrase for a product coming up on an anniversary.
I want Insomniac to take as much time as they want with this game. Make Ratchet and Clank perfect, and make sure the Female Lombax is as awesome as possible since we could potentially see a spin-off with her. Also that she has a cool name. This game will be awesome and Sony will promote it like crazy when it's time for it to release.
@MrDoug91 I have no problem with that, but I mean that let's say we're calling PS5 for a year still 'next-gen' then I think you can also call that 'launch window'. It's my opinion that it is the same ballpark.
If it were up to me, we stop calling it next-gen (and also not current-gen). I did not like it in the first place. Launch window should definitely be around launch if it were up to me. If someone would buy a PS5 now and you would ask: 'did you have it during launch?' And you'd answer with 'no' then that means launch window is over. I think 'Launch' is already over now. Nonetheless, it's semantics probably and I rather have a great R&C game even if they take another year. I have no problem with them revealing it one day before release
😂🤣🤣🤣
ps5 first year With NO Exclusives
.
.
.
.
If Ratchet and clank didn't come out this
may.
This will be the most disasterstic playstation generation ever.
@get2sammyb instead of made up excuses for sony, how about calling out for their lack of the communication to the customers and the public. The future doesn't look bright by their side
You journalist have the power to effect their decision and change thier strategy.
@Classic_console I rather have the journalists use their power to pressure on PS5 (60 fps) updates for some Sony games (God of War, Uncharted 4 & LL)
@Mysterio I understand your logic. However, in a normal world where E3 happens, I think that is my cutoff. Anything prior to that is Launch Window. It's a tent pole event where the industry turns it's attention to what comes next so it feels like a natural cutoff. Now that I think about it, I might also say it's when we drop the next gen phrasing as well.
I agree that ultimately it doesn't matter and they should do what's best for the game so that we get the best version possible.
Probably May or June. This is the big game that is going to get me to upgrade to a PS5, so hopefully when it launches I can find a console.
@Hyperluminal I see your point now and somewhat agree, but would add that multiplayer and games as a service fit more into the category of “buy now or get lost in the abyss” than something like Rachet & Clank
I'm pretty sure "launch window" means "sometime between the Day 0 patch and the patch that delivers folders."
This is depressing to hear, I was really hoping to play it in the Easter timeframe as kind of a tradition, and is the only exclusive that really made me want the console at launch. Granted, other than Miles, there haven't really been any other exclusives at launch... (not including Souls, it's a PS3 remake of a genre I'm not into, and Sackboy and HzD2 aren't PS5 exclusive.) If it doesn't launch by April, I'll actually probably hold off on it until next year. Hitman 3's turning out to be the 2021 first-half GOTY by virtue of having no competition whatsoever!
At this point I kinda expect it to be June/July. Hopefully I'm wrong and it's actually May. Before that - I don't think so.
Launch window is within 1 month of the console launch.
So no, Rift Apart is not a ps5 launch/window title.
I would say no if this was a normal case, since the system's been out for a couple months already. But since barely anyone has the system, you could probably put an asterisk there and call it a launch window title when there's more PS5 units available? I dunno.
Launch window or not, I just want to see more of it soon.
I know they said "launch window" but that was before we got our hand on the ps5 and mostly Astro Bot. I think after so many people said how amazing the rumble in Astro Bot was , and how Spiderman and demon soul wasn't . It has forced them to go back and re-tool R&C to make sure it feels as good as Astro Bot.
@Paul-ML I wouldnt object to that if true. Astro was fantastic.
@DerMeister there are like 5 million consoles out there. Even if 100,000 are in the hands of scalpers, which I doubt, that barely makes an impact.
i think it'll be later than september. imo, at least two of GT7, horizon forbidden west end GoW ragnarok will not release this year so R&C will be pushed out to plug a gap in the autumn.
given AMD have already said they expect supply of their chips to be constrained for at least the first half of 2021, i don't expect retail surplus to exist anytime soon. year one might as well be considered PS5 early access.
I think everything will be delayed. R&C in Nov, GT in early Dec, Horizon GoW in '22.
@Robinsad Could've fooled me. Outside of this site I barely see anything worth talking about in regards to the console, only two people I know, again outside of this site, have one, and they had a rough time trying to get one. I know that's just personal experience, so forgive me if I seem narrow viewed on it.
It's great that there's 5 million out there, but I'm sure that number would be better if the thing wasn't so hard to get at the moment.
After the PS4 title being delayed countless times with the devs simply saying "it looks great" until FINALLy setting on a date for April 2016...eh it'll be late this year, early next year, but it sure as hell ain't launch window anymore.
I think under normal circumstances the launch window should be 3-4 months, but due to the current pandemic id say 6-7 months. That being said I would much rather have a delay and have a full finished amazing game, rather than a rushed, broken game needing a million updates cough cyberpunk cough....
If you need a definition for launch window games why not go with any game that was in development before the console launch when developers were working on dev units.
All games that came after them are usually considered the second wave, or second generation of games on said console.
@PSfanboy1992 Same. Got the PS5 For Rift Apart and Final Fantasy 16. Hoping for a new jak game soon
@DerMeister It's the number of people who still want one that makes it look like nobody has one. PS5 is reportedly selling faster than the PS4 did but you're totally right saying it would sell even faster if they could make more.
Unrelated BUT IMPORTANT!!
Anyone else notice sony removed the "new games/see all new games" section from the ps4 console store?!?!
No longer able to see what new games have come out WT ACTUAL F SONY?!?
What the hell are they thinking? This needs to be addressed, how do we let sony know?
June would be great and this kind of game is perfect after something darker like Resident Evil.
PS5 has been launched, launch window is gone.
R&C May
Horizon July
GOW Ragnarok November
+- 1 month
@NEStalgia every Switch game is launch window then 😉
Probably explains why they're still releasing Wii U games on it 😆
@carlos82 So true. I just have something in my eye, that's all.....
I’m thinking it got delayed because of Returnal getting delayed. That’s why sony never gave a release date. They’d rather give the team more time to work without all the publicity of a release date so if a game gets delayed it’s not criticized.
I think given Returnal is April 30th, Sony will give it some space and release Ratchet & Clank in July/August. PS5 will be very hard to get until 2nd half of 2021 anyway so 1 PS5 exclusive every 2-3 months sounds about right:
November 12th/19th - Demon's Souls
February 1st - Destruction All Stars
April 30th - Returnal
July/August - Ratchet & Clank
September/October - GT7
Early 2022 - God of War Sequel
With the last crossgen game (Horizon Forbidden West) being a November release.
I'm going with June right now. There's basically nothing coming out then at the moment, and it keeps it away from Resident Evil Village and Deathloop in May. I know Ratchet & Clank games are much different than either of those, but still, it would make sense to put it away from a heavy hitter like Resident Evil and a timed exclusive they paid for like Deathloop.
Man everyone here is loyal to a fault screw that they spouted a bunch of nonsense they knew WASN'T true to make it look like they had next gen launch titles. 6 months is okay? Really? I'm a old school gamer launch windows weren't/aren't 6 months cut that in half and maybe we are getting somewhere. People blaming the at home order and covid-19 crap guess what both was going on then to man come on they knew the state of things. Blind loyalty will bite you guys in the !. Not to mention R&C wasn't the only "launch window" title look it up if you must but it's looking like none of them are coming. But sure I'll play along, Yes Sony it's okay to lie to me to push your agenda please continue to do it as I will blindly follow all your deceptions because your the only gaming platform out there. Watch the replies roll in now.
Sadly june or more. But I want this game so so so much, most anticipated game by a mile!
Not that I’m an expert but launch window for a fall release console has always seen games release by end of fiscal year. For Sony, that is end of March. With no word on this game for months, this seems unlikely. However, Insomniac has been releases photos here recently on Twitter of the game.
I was thinking 2-3 months. But when you think of the number of people that still want a PS5 that still do not have one. The PS5 is still in its launch window. My guess is it will not meet demand until early to mid 2022
I generally associate "launch window" with "launch year", so anything within the year.
People still have not learned you should not complain about place holder launch dates. Lets all hope Ratchet and Clank will NOT launch until its ready.
Given that almost no one owns a PS5 right now, it only makes sense for Sony to hold back some of their best exclusives until more people have the console in their home. They'll sell a lot more units at $60-$70 in the Autumn than they will in the Spring. If they release it in March, then most people won't even have the chance to play it until the price drops to $20-$30 later on.
@Voltan You're probably right on that one. It's still a rarity where I'm at, so that's maybe why I thought that. Looking up the sales numbers for PS4 shows that the PS5's doing well, too. My bad.
I feel I should also clarify in my original comment, when I said I wanted to see more of it, I meant more of the game. Though more consoles probably wouldn't hurt either
Feb- Destruction Allstars
Mar- Kena Bridge of Spirits
Apr- Returnal
May- Deathloop
Jun- Ratchet & Clank : Rift apart
Jul- Last of Us Factions Multiplayer
Aug- Ghostwire Tokyo
Sept- Gran turismo 7
Nov- Horizon Forbidden West
Early 2022 - God of War Ragnarok
June 2021 is more likely now, but I still have my fingers crossed for May.
Historically, the industry seems to view "launch window" as roughly 6 months. So up to mid to late May would count as launch window still.
The question then becomes is Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart going to launch by then? Given the delays to both Destruction Allstars & Returnal maybe not everything at PlayStation Studios is proceeding as planned. My bet is we'll see the rest of Sony's first party games get reshuffled. I expect everything to be pushed back s little.
@SoSolidSnake sounds great if ur right!
I think it will release whenever Sony has a new sizable batch of PS5 consoles to send into the world. What good is releasing a PS5 exclusive game when you can't find a console to play it on. Releasing it now will mean the hype has died before people get a chance to buy a PS5. You want to use this game to boost PS5 sales so it's logical to release it whenever consoles are easier to find.
I voted July, simply because retailers around here are saying at least June till we see anymore PS5's on the shelves. I'd think they'd want to consider this game a success, and for that to happen, more people need consoles to play it on.
I'm aware that judging by the recent poll, about two-thirds of you already have the 5, but you guys are die-hard gamers and not representative of the public at large. The last sales figures I've seen said 5 million 5's sold. Compare that to over 100 million PS4's sold, and those numbers alone seem to indicate anything released now will be an initial flop.
By their marketing jargon, maybe? By my own expectations of what it should mean? Not even close considering we're already coming up on 3 months since release and they haven't even given a solid date.
I could stretch "launch window" to 3 months but it's obviously not launching in Feb...
@2cents But the people who would buy it now (ALSO ME) will likely still buy it when it comes out later...
I think the moral of the story is, "GIVE US DAT RATCHET PLEASE"
What launch title/console exclusive would it be if there are no consoles to play it on? The stock shortage may as well simmer down during late spring so it makes more sense to me at that date.
Absolutely not. Launch game means it launches with the system. Not Months after. Hence the meaning "Launch" Speaking of though, I vote for May. So please release it before May. Or in May, thank you It honestly should have been released by now if it was a launch title. A bit disappointing it's not out yet
Launch window or not, I would rather play a complete, polished game that arrives late than a hot mess beta version that releases on time.
But thank goodness for the PS4 backwards compatibility; otherwise with all these game delays the PS5 would quickly turn into a pretty paperweight.
June 11th !!! Lo and behold I was right 😀
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