Astro Bot is ‘very, very important’ as an IP for PlayStation, says boss Hermen Hulst

SIE Studio Business Group CEO Hermen Hulst has said that Astro is a “very, very” important brand for PlayStation going forward.

Speaking on the Official PlayStation podcast in a joint interview with Astro Bot director Nicolas Doucet, the head of PlayStation studios commented on the importance of Astro as a brand going forward for PlayStation.

“Astro is very, very important to PlayStation,” said Hulst. “Obviously we had the pre-install with the PlayStation 5 that millions have embraced and loved, and I think that’s becoming a little bit of a platform to launch this new game now.

“It’s remarkable that a very small team is able to deliver a game that is so big, it’s really become a great game in itself, and it’s become a celebration of everything PlayStation at this point.”

Hulst also commented on PlayStation’s plans to develop titles in a wider range of genres. While Astro Bot is a colourful platformer, Sony‘s recent output has been characterized by big-budget, third-person action titles aiming for photorealistic graphics.

“It’s massively important that PlayStation studios develops games in various genres and the family market is really important for us to focus on,” Hulst said.

“It’s interesting that Nico and I, at the beginning of the project, talked about platformers, and how so many of the great ones come out of Japan and I was kind of joking with him saying ‘let’s see those games as the bar’, and I’m so excited that they’re delivering that now. ”

VGC’s Astro Bot review called it “the best 3D platformer of the decade”.