Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis is on its way to PS4 in the West

Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis is finally coming to PS4 for players outside of Asia next month.

Originally released in Japan in 2012, Phantasy Star Online 2 came to the West on Xbox One and PC in 2020, but a PlayStation release was nowhere to be seen. The closest Sony players could get was a PS Vita version which released back in 2013. 

Now, however, Sega has confirmed that ten years after it first released on PC in Japan a decade ago, Western fans will be able to play the game on PS4 - albeit the New Genesis version - for the first time from August 31, 2022 (thanks, Polygon).

Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis - which is a new game rather than an expansion, albeit one that ties directly to the original - tells a story taking place a thousand years after the events of Phantasy Star Online 2. 

The free-to-play, sci-fi, action-MMO has always had a cult following in the West, but had been incredibly hard to get hold of. With last year's long-awaited localization, however, it's become more accessible and more active thanks to graphical improvements. 

It also brings revised combat and exploration set in a wide-open world, and you can still take the same characters back and forth between either version of the game. Your gear from the original game will carry over in an altered form into the new, too, although your character's experience, skills, and most of their currency won't make the jump.

Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis will, however, be cross-platform, which means you can move between platforms with your characters, and it features English voice work and be fully localized for Western audiences, too. It's also up to date with the Japanese version in terms of updates, balancing, and quality of life, so after waiting all these years for a proper release, the North American audience won't have to do any more catching up to Japan - even on PS4. 

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