2 Classic PlayStation Vita Sequel Projects Nearly Happened Before Sony Focused on PS4

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Summary

  • Soul Sacrifice 2 and Freedom Wars 2 were both in development for the PS Vita before being canceled.
  • The sequels were abandoned due to Sony’s strategic decision to redirect more resources toward PS4 game development at the time.
  • The PS4 also got in the way of some other prospective PS Vita games, according to former SIE Shuhei Yoshida.

It was previously known that Sony was developing follow-ups to the hit games “Freedom Wars” and “Soul Sacrifice”, which belonged to the PlayStation Vita series. But, as a high-ranking representative from the company has disclosed, these projects were eventually shelved by Sony, meaning they were never completed. This decision came in line with the PS Vita itself being discontinued.

First released between December 2011 and February 2012, depending on the market, the PS Vita was one of the shortest-lived consoles produced this century by a major manufacturer. Sony stopped developing first-party Vita games in 2015. One of their last significant efforts to demonstrate the device’s potential was “Freedom Wars,” an action RPG developed by Tokyo-based studio Dimps, which received critical acclaim after its release in 2014.

As a devoted fan, I can share that Freedom Wars signaled the start of the decline for the PS Vita’s exclusive first-party games library, but initially, Sony had a different vision. They were actually planning to continue the story with a sequel to the highly praised Action Role-Playing Game (ARPG). This is based on the recent episode of Last Stand Media’s Sacred Symbols+ podcast, where former Sony Interactive Entertainment President Shuhei Yoshida made this revelation. Moreover, Yoshida also mentioned that Sony was developing a sequel to another Vita-exclusive ARPG, Soul Sacrifice, which received an overwhelmingly positive critical response in 2013.

PS4 Got in the Way of Freedom Wars 2 and Soul Sacrifice 2

Ultimately, Sony chose to discontinue work on both “Soul Sacrifice 2” and “Freedom Wars 2”, with Shuhei Yoshida explaining that the commencement of a new console generation was the primary factor behind this decision. In his own words, “We were indeed developing ‘Soul Sacrifice 2’ and ‘Freedom Wars 2’, but due to financial constraints, we had no choice but to halt progress and shift our focus towards the PS4.

Yoshida didn’t specify the duration of the planned sequels for “Freedom Wars” and “Soul Sacrifice” at the time they were cancelled. However, he implied that the PS4 significantly sped up the decline of the PS Vita, even by taking resources away from new titles like “Freedom Wars” and “Soul Sacrifice”. If Sony had not prioritized PS4 first-party games at that moment, the PS Vita might have seen more spin-offs of popular PlayStation series such as “Uncharted: Golden Abyss” and “Killzone: Mercenary”, according to Yoshida.

Originally, our team was developing Soul Sacrifice 2 and Freedom Wars 2, but due to financial constraints, we unfortunately had to halt production and shift our focus towards creating games for the PlayStation 4.

As a dedicated fan, I was initially disappointed when Sony decided not to release Freedom Wars 2. However, their dedication to keeping the original game alive was evident as they invested resources to ensure its continued availability. This led to the creation of Freedom Wars Remastered, which launched in January 2025. Interestingly, even though it’s a PlayStation IP, this remastered version found its way onto Nintendo Switch and PC platforms, alongside its versions for PS4 and PS5.

On the other hand, Soul Sacrifice, another title from the same era, remains exclusively on the PS Vita. Despite fans’ continuous requests for a remaster, Sony has yet to make any official announcement about it. The 2014 classic seems to be content in its current form, leaving us Vita and PS fans longing for more.

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2025-05-18 20:44