PlayStation and Team Asobi have dropped a surprise update for Astro’s Playroom in celebration of the reveal of its full-fledged Astro title, Astro Bot.
The update released for all PlayStation 5 users without warning today, bringing a handful of new goodies, a new area, and even a few new missions to complete. It’s enough content to keep you busy for around an hour or so longer, but considering Astro’s Playroom came free for anyone who owns a PS5, it’s more than enough reason to celebrate.
Those who hop into Astro’s Playroom today will be met with a message that a “mysterious portal” has opened up in the center of the game’s collectible hub, the PS LABO. It also teases that a selection of gatchas, or collectibles that can be earned via an in-game arcade machine, have been added, too.
Heading into this new portal, which can be found sitting in the center of PS LABO, takes players to a new area called the “Mission Room.” It’s a small and relatively barren space that directs players to Astro’s next adventure, and it even comes fit with what seems to be a countdown timer to its September 6, 2024 release date on PS5.
Aside from the new collectibles and items celebrating PlayStation’s history, the update brings a few objectives for players who may have already completed all of Astro’s Playroom’s previously available missions. A separate message teases that a “Special Bot has appeared in GPU Jungle and needs your help.” Players are tasked with solving a riddle to rescue the stray bot, and judging by a list of five new trophies shared by Wario64 on X/Twitter, it seems there are four bots ready to be rescued in each of Astro’s Playroom’s four separate worlds.
If you’re having trouble getting those new messages to pop up, you might try waiting until you’ve completed the relatively short game’s main campaign. We had trouble getting the message to appear on a new save file but saw it immediately upon entering a completed one.
Astro Bot takes Asobi’s series to new heights this September, bringing what the team believes is the “biggest game we’ve ever made.” For more, you can read our Astro’s Playroom review, where we said, “Astro's Playroom is a great showcase for the varied, impressive ways the DualSense can immerse you in next-gen games.”
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He started writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work at outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.
Be sure to give him a follow on Twitter @MikeCripe.
