Insomniac Games has confirmed on Twitter that the upcoming Ratchet & Clank sequel will be exclusive to the PlayStation 5.
Yesterday, a Ratchet & Clank fan asked Insomniac if the new game, Rift Apart, will have a PS4 version or if it will only be on PS5. The Insomniac Games Twitter account responded definitively: It's a PS5 exclusive.
It was a question worth asking, given what we already know about the release plan for next-gen games. Spider-Man: Miles Morales is a launch title for the PS5, but it will also be available on the PS4. While this makes sense given that Miles is stand-alone expansion to Marvel's Spider-Man, other upcoming PS5 games like Assassin's Creed: Valhalla and Dirt 5 will be available on PS4 as well.
Over on the Xbox side, it's been confirmed that the console will not have a single next-gen exclusive game for at least the first year. Xbox executive Phil Spencer said in a recent interview that next-gen exclusives are completely counter to what gaming is about. Even Halo Infinite will be available on last-generation consoles when it's eventually released.
Of course, it makes sense that Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart would not have a PS4 version, given that the rift mechanic relies on the power of the PS5 SSD. As seen in recent gameplay from Gamescom, Ratchet will be able to create portals to instantly teleport between worlds. This is only possible thanks to next-gen solid-state drives that are capable of making load times practically non-existent. Further, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is targeting next-gen performance benchmarks, including 4k, ray-tracing, and 60fps. While the PS4 Pro is 4k capable, a PS4 version of Rift Apart would be significantly downgraded from the PS5 version, so it isn't entirely surprising that the game will be PS5 exclusive.
The other major PS5 launch title, Demon's Souls, is exclusive to the next-gen console. Some future PlayStation exclusive games have not yet been confirmed as PS5 exclusives, including God of War: Ragnarok. Meanwhile, most PS4 games have been confirmed to be PS5 compatible, but not all. Ubisoft recently released a list of older PS4 games that won't be coming to PS5, while other developers are still working to make sure their games will work on the PS5 when it launches next week.
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