Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart Targets PS5 Launch Window

One of PlayStation's big exclusives for the coming launch of the PS5 is the next Ratchet & Clank game, Rift Apart. Today we got another look at the game, especially how it uses the reality-warping rifts to show off the PS5's tech—and a vague hint at when it will arrive.

Shown off during the Gamescom Opening Night Live stream today, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart got a gameplay demo captured on PS5 hardware. Alongside more rift-warping action, Insomniac Games also confirmed in a follow-up interview with Geoff Keighley that Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart will arrive in the PS5's "launch window."

As our own Mike Williams noted following the announcement, a launch window is a wide range of possible launch dates. While something before the end of 2020 would be rad, that launch could also leak over into 2021. With COVID-19 throwing a wrench into development for many studios, it's very likely that a firm date isn't knowable just yet.

What we have seen of the new Ratchet game, though, is fairly impressive. Today's demo was essentially a longer version of what we saw earlier this year, but the way Ratchet and Clank are able to seamlessly zip through portals using the tether and drop through larger portals is still cool to see in action.

Not much more info was revealed, especially in the realm of the playable mysterious female Lombax that appears at the end of the demo. Insomniac confirmed that this will be a continuation of 2013's Into the Nexus, but what that entails remains to be seen.

Either way, between Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Sony's big acquisition of Insomniac looks like it might pay off in a big way for the PlayStation 5. Hopefully we'll get a narrower window for Rift Apart, or a release date for the PS5, in the near future.