PS5 Exclusive With Black Myth: Wukong Vibes Seemingly Canceled

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Games similar to the ‘Souls’ series are becoming more popular, but that didn’t diminish the excitement when Ballad of Antara, a PlayStation 5 exclusive, was shown off in May 2024 during a State of Play presentation. Unfortunately, despite being revealed recently—and even having a gameplay demo in September—reports suggest the game has been canceled.

Rumors began circulating in September 2025 that Ballad of Antara had been canceled. It started on the GamingLeaksAndRumors subreddit when a user spotted a concept artist sharing their work and mentioning the game’s cancellation. Although the original tweet has been removed, PlayStation LifeStyle captured evidence of it, and a Chinese insider (@ignusthewise) also shared related information. These posts suggest what may have happened to the promising soulslike game.

As a big fan of Ballad of Antara, I’ve been really worried lately. It sounds like the studio behind it, TipsWorks, went through some huge changes last year. Apparently, they had to cut their team down from 120 people to just 20! Word on the street, from sources like @ignusthewise and PlayStation Lifestyle, is that the game might have been too ambitious for such a small team. We haven’t heard anything official about it since late 2024, and it was supposed to come out in 2025. Honestly, it’s starting to look like Ballad of Antara might never actually be released, which is just heartbreaking.

The artist behind Ballad of Antara, Lingchang2000, removed their original announcement that the game was canceled and started a new online account. This suggests the game might not be canceled permanently, and development could just be temporarily on hold.

Ballad of Antara Being Scrapped Would Be a Serious Case of Wasted Potential

It would be really disappointing if Ballad of Antara was canceled. The recent gameplay demo wasn’t perfect – enemies were a bit too durable and took a lot of damage – but it still showed a lot of promise. It clearly draws inspiration from Black Myth: Wukong with its focus on Chinese culture and exciting boss fights, and the game’s environments were especially beautiful. The enemy designs were also creative and memorable, like the huge, unsettling bird creature the developers shared online. If they had adjusted enemy health, the combat would have been much more engaging, and the game’s stunning visuals, lovable cat-riding companion, and captivating world could have truly stood out. Unfortunately, it looks like players might not get the chance to play it at all.

The game Ballad of Antara seemed far along in its development, making the news of its potential cancellation surprising. However, this isn’t unusual – PlatinumGames’ Scalebound, an Xbox exclusive, faced a similar fate. Recently, Sony has also canceled several online games, including multiplayer projects based on God of War and Marvel’s Spider-Man, and a substantial Last of Us Online game. Deviation Games offers a good parallel; their game was also canceled even with PlayStation’s support and a significant financial investment.

Image via Infold Games

Fans of Ballad of Antara are currently left hoping the recent rumors aren’t true. Until TipsWorks or Infold Games (the creators of Infinity Nikki) officially confirms anything, there’s still a small chance the game might return, though it doesn’t look promising at the moment.

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2026-01-10 23:04