PlayStation appears to be throwing its entire weight behind Astro Bot, which was officially launched on September 6. In a rare move, Sony Interactive Entertainment changed the profile images of its official accounts on various social media platforms to celebrate the release of the PlayStation 5 exclusive.
As Game Rant reports, Astro Bot has already cracked the list of top 100 games of all time and is predicted to do extremely well when the 2024 Gaming Awards season comes around.
PlayStation took to X, Instagram and Facebook to change its profile photos and cover photos to be based on the beloved Astro Bot soon after the game’s release on Friday. The big-budget mascot 3D platformer is a full game follow up to the PS5 built-in game Astro’s Playroom, with Captain Bot having to go on a rescue mission in order to save members of his team of little robots following an alien attack. Throughout its hours of gameplay, players will discover many cameos of iconic PlayStation characters that have been robotified for the purpose of the game, with even more cameos being hinted to come post-launch.
Platforming mascots have long been celebrated by PlayStation, who unlike competitors, would prop up a number of mascot characters at a given time. Crash Bandicoot and Spyro were just two beloved icons from PlayStation’s early days who have been given the star treatment, the PS2 era had several mascots of its own, Sackboy debuted in the PS3 era, and now Astro Bot joins that elite circle.
According to Game Rant, Astro Bot first debuted in 2013’s Playroom for PS4, then got his leading role in the 2018 release of the PSVR-exclusive Astro Bot Rescue Mission. It wouldn’t be until 2020 that Captain Bot would next be available for the console, with Astro’s Playroom helping to teach players about the DualSense capabilities beloved on PS5. The early Friday morning propping up of Astro Bot on social media platforms also comes as PlayStation gears up for its 30th anniversary celebrations, and fans like Reddit user IcePopsicleDragon made note of the big change.
Astro Bot has been received extremely well by critics, having secured the spot for 2nd best game of the year and already surpassing the mark for 74th best game of all time. Many critics are praising its gameplay and the inclusion of characters from PlayStation’s past, filling Astro Bot with tons of nostalgic elements. The move to promote Astro Bot in a social media blitz came as a pleasant surprise to fans, who were already familiar with the character in previous entries but had yet to dub Captain Astro as an iconic mascot, despite his official status from PlayStation. Now, though, it is certainly safe to say that Astro Bot has been cemented as the current PlayStation mascot.
—
Photo Credit: Vantage_DS / Shutterstock.com