Astro Bot Studio’s Job Listings Indicates Development Has Started on a New Project

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Following the huge success of Astro Bot, Team Asobi appears to have begun development on a new game. They are currently hiring a 3D Environment Artist to join the team. This position reports to the Lead 3D Environment Artist and will require the artist to work on-site in Tokyo for at least the first six months.

The job listing doesn’t offer many specifics about the project, but it hints that the team is creating visually appealing and fun environments for a game. This suggests they may be working on a new Astro Bot game, or at least a project with a similar cheerful style.

The team is also hiring a Gameplay Programmer to develop exciting and innovative gameplay features using the physics engine. They’re looking for someone creative and with a good sense of game design who can bring their own personality to the game’s interactions. This is a mid- to senior-level role, reporting to the Lead Gameplay Programmer.

So, Sony and Team Asobi haven’t said anything official about what they’re working on next, but it’s been a while since Astro Bot came out – back in 2024, if you can believe it! That makes me think they’ve probably started planning, or even the very early stages of making, a new game already. I’m really hoping to hear something soon!

Given the positive reception and praise from PlayStation Studios head Hermen Hulst, who called it a promising new franchise, a follow-up to the 3D platformer Astro Bot seems likely.

In February 2025, Sony executive Hiroki Totoki shared his excitement about the work of Team Asobi. He highlighted that their game, Astro Bot, had won four awards at The Game Awards 2024 – including Game of the Year and Best Family Game – more than any other game. He also praised Helldivers 2.

The live service game Helldivers 2, released last February, was recognized with both Best Ongoing Game and Best Multiplayer Game awards. This is encouraging because we’re planning to create more games in these genres – including family-friendly titles and live service games – and seeing success here is a significant step towards diversifying our game offerings.

The last update from Team Asobi came from studio director Nicolas Doucet, who explained why people with a PS4 should consider upgrading to the PS5. He believes the DualSense controller and the fast SSD are the biggest reasons to upgrade, even more so than improved graphics. He emphasized that these unique features are what really make the PS5 special.

According to Doucet, comparing graphics from a late-generation PlayStation 4 game to an early PlayStation 5 game doesn’t show a huge difference to most people. However, the real leap came with the DualSense controller prototypes for the PS5. They experimented with the controller’s haptic feedback and adaptive triggers, trying to find ways to make gameplay more immersive – for example, simulating the feeling of pulling, breaking, or crushing objects through the controller itself. They thoroughly tested these possibilities.

In the meantime, check out our review of Astro Bot, which is exclusively available on PS5.

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2026-02-27 18:41