Hi everyone, it’s just days away from launching Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart on the PlayStation 5 console. It’s been quite a journey to get here, as our team has been working on creating a centerpiece for the new material. Built from the ground up for PS5, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is, in my humble opinion, one of the most beautiful and technically impressive games ever to come out. I know the rest of the Insomniac team feel the same way.
Over the years we have worked on many Ratchet & Clank games. When I think back to these games on the PS2 and PS3 consoles, it’s amazing how far we’ve come. We made a video to show the development of things over the course of the franchise, take a look:
I will never forget being a freshman in college, working as a freelance journalist and getting a first draft of the first Ratchet & Clank. Sitting in my dormitory exploring the planets with a lombax and his robot companion immediately impressed me. I eagerly devoured future releases, and this was one of my favor ite franchises on one of my all-time favorite consoles.
Ratchet & Clank on PS2, release date: November 4, 2002
On the PS2 console, Ratchet & Clank has done what it always does: be a centerpiece for your console. The games, Ratchet & Clank, Going Commando, Up Your Arsenal and Deadlocked, were wonderful technical pieces for the console with incredible panoramic views and draw distance, incredible action and weapons, incredible heart and humor.
Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal on PS2, release date: November 2, 2004
After graduating from college, I got a job at Insomniac Games and started working on a game codenamed Ratchet & Clank Future. It was my first Ratchet & Clank game, and Insomniac’s first for the PlayStation 3 console.
We were finally starting to reach for the visuals of CG animated movies back in the day and take advantage of the Cell processor and the power of the PS3 console. But we also started at this point to really take the story in a more sincere direction, like those animated films that we loved. We’ve dug into Ratchet and Clank’s backstory on the Future Saga and the seminal A Crack in Time remains the favorite game of many fans of the franchise.
Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time on PS3, release date: October 27, 2009
We also experimented with the 4-player game, All 4 One, and a multiplayer / tower defense game: Full Frontal Assault. We kept working to refine the mechanics and polish our action and shooter.
Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One on PS3, release date: October 18, 2011
Which all came together on the PS4 console. A CG animated film gave us the opportunity to make a game based on a game based film. This reimagined version of the original (said from Captain Qwark’s point of view) is a visual tour de force. This allowed you to play through the origins of the characters but with years of experience designing fights and weapons, and with amazing visuals that showed what the PS4 console is capable of.
Ratchet & Clank on PS4, release date: April 16, 2016
With our next standalone entry in the Ratchet & Clank franchise, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, this title was built from the ground up and designed exclusively for the PS5 console. The speed of the SSD allowed us to envision dimension jumps and portals that would take you across the galaxy. The power of the console allows us to bring you our most visually spectacular Ratchet & Clank game to date. The haptic feedback and adaptive triggers of the DualSense Wireless Controller bring the Ratchet and Rivet arsenal to life in a whole new way. And all of the years of storytelling in the Ratchet & Clank universe has allowed us to create a heartfelt story about friendship and overcoming all odds.
Watching the evolution, from the PS2 console in my dorm on a 13 inch screen TV – to now Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart – in gorgeous 4K HDR * with ray-traced reflections and 3D sound in my headphones, that has been amazing how two best friends have evolved right off the console.
For those of you who have been fans over the years, you will notice a lot of Easter eggs in the video. Swag and rare Ratchet & Clank items dot the rooms, many of these items are from my personal Ratchet & Clank collection. Several more are props from the original TV commercials for the PS2 console (although they’ve been cut down a bit for this video!). You might even spot toys from other IPs that Insomniac Games created and developed during these times.
One of the things that amazes me most about the Ratchet & Clank franchise is that it celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2022. Ratchet and Clank are some of PlayStation’s greatest heroes, having debuted on the PlayStation 2 console in 2002, and grew up right next to consoles. Many of you have grown up with them. We look forward to celebrating the 20th anniversary next year.
And while I can’t put you in touch with all of my awesome Ratchet & Clank toys, we’ve got some new ways for you to show your love for the franchise:
We have brand new face filters for Instagram and Facebook stories. Transform into a Ratchet, Rivet or Clank with these filters. They are hilarious because they are intriguing, invite your friends and family to try them out!
We also have new Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart products coming to PlayStation Gear Store, which are shipping to select countries **. Here is a quick overview – and I hope to see you wearing them on selfies or at the next gaming convention when we can all safely get together again. Why not share a photo of you wearing them with us on Instagram or Twitter with the hashtag # RatchetPS5?
That’s all for now – thank you for coming with us in the past today! It’s been an amazing 19 years, and we couldn’t have done it without all of our amazing fans. See you on June 11, 2021 when Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart launches exclusively on PlayStation 5 consoles.
*Dynamic 4K and HDR require a 4K and HDR compatible TV or monitor.
**PlayStation Gear Store ships to Canada, United States, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Uruguay, Austria, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Europe and UK.
