Industry press events and showcases have increasingly taken on an entertainment dimension for mainstream audiences. Traditionally designed for media coverage and investor engagement, these events are now widely consumed by the general public, particularly as online streaming platforms make them more accessible. The primary draw for this broader audience is the unveiling of new products.
This trend is most evident in the technology sector, where Apple’s leadership (first Steve Jobs, now Tim Cook) has historically presented upcoming products alongside the company’s strategic direction. A similar approach is seen with Nvidia, whose events highlight new chip technologies and related products, often in collaboration with industry partners. Broader interest in events such as the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) reflects this same enthusiasm, offering audiences a glimpse of the future of technology across multiple companies.
Video game companies have been showcasing their products for decades. Initially designed as press conferences to generate media coverage and investor interest, these events have evolved over the 2000s into high-profile showcases focused on product announcements. Delivered via online streaming platforms, they are now widely watched by large audiences of video game enthusiasts. Typically, these presentations consist of pre-recorded or live videos ranging from a few minutes to several hours, highlighting new game releases and related updates.
To illustrate the engagement these presentations generate, the most recent PlayStation “State of Play” event, broadcast at 5 PM EST on February 12, 2026, from PlayStation’s official YouTube channel, had amassed nearly 3 million views within 20 hours of airing. This figure does not account for the numerous partner channels that also streamed the event, nor the individual game trailers that were subsequently uploaded.
It is reasonable to assume that the level of interest generated by each video game announcement would be of significant value to PlayStation, prompting questions such as: Which game announcements are attracting the most attention? Which titles are gaining the greatest momentum? Which should receive increased marketing focus leading up to release? Agility PR Solutions provides tools that can help answer these questions, particularly through the volume of social media activity generated by these announcements.
Agility is a comprehensive media monitoring tool that helps users understand the broader media landscape, including trends, opinions, and sentiment around specific topics. It captures both traditional media—online news, print, radio, and television—and social media platforms such as Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube, Reddit, BlueSky, LinkedIn, and TikTok. In the context of PlayStation’s “State of Play,” social media provides an effective lens into public reaction and engagement with the announcements made during the showcase.
To help address these questions, Agility’s media analysis team was configured to capture social media posts related to the PlayStation “State of Play” event. Since the specific announcements were unknown in advance, the search parameters included a combination of PlayStation-related keywords along with “State of Play” or the hashtag #StateOfPlay. As a result, all social media posts included in this analysis contained at least one PlayStation and one State of Play keyword. The dataset covers posts on Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube, Reddit, BlueSky, LinkedIn, and TikTok between 10 AM on February 12 and 10 AM on February 13, 2026. The event itself occurred on February 12 from 5 PM to 6 PM.
Which video game announcements generated the most excitement among social media users during this event? A total of 29 game-related announcements were made. To assess engagement, social media coverage was analyzed to determine how frequently each announced game was mentioned. The results are expressed as a percentage of total social media posts referencing PlayStation and the “State of Play” event or associated hashtags. For example, the dual announcement of the God of War Trilogy Remake and the original God of War: Sons of Sparta accounted for 17% of all mentions in our sample. The findings are presented below in three tiers: 1st–10th most mentioned, 11th–20th most mentioned, and 21st–29th most mentioned.
The items below are organized by franchise rather than individual game announcements. In two cases, a single announcement included multiple games within a franchise. The two God of War announcements were combined into a single item, as both generated engagement for the God of War franchise overall. Separating them into “Trilogy Remake” and “Sons of Sparta” would have artificially lowered the percentages, making comparisons with other single-game announcements less meaningful. Similarly, the Dead or Alive franchise included two games in a single announcement and was treated as one item for consistency.
1st-10th most mentioned
11th-20th most mentioned
21st-29th most mentioned
As shown, the announcement of the God of War Trilogy Remake and God of War: Sons of Sparta accounted for the largest share of social media mentions in our sample. This outcome is unsurprising, given that (1) God of War is a highly popular PlayStation franchise, and (2) Sons of Sparta was not only announced but also immediately available for download and play, likely driving additional excitement. Following this, the announcement of a new title in the Kena: Bridge of Spirits franchise, Kena: Scars of Kosmora, generated notable engagement as a sequel to the 2021 release. Additionally, 9% of mentions referenced a new game in the long-running Castlevania franchise, marking the first “new game” in the series in many years and serving as a revival for fans. Finally, 9% of coverage referenced the announcement of a John Wick game, which aims to adapt the popular film series starring Keanu Reeves.
Takeaways
- Agility provides access to social media content, offering a valuable window into public conversation around your brand and products. This real-time monitoring enables rapid identification of emerging trends and audience sentiment.
- Social media insights can help gauge excitement for specific brands or products. Agility highlights which messages and releases are resonating most and can analyze engagement metrics such as shares, comments, and likes to quantify impact.
- Agility’s platform also supports strategic marketing decisions by indicating which products to prioritize based on public perception. This allows for optimized allocation of campaign resources toward high-interest products. Additionally, the platform can identify influencers and key communities that amplify brand reach, further strengthening overall marketing strategy.
This analysis was conducted by Agility PR Solutions’ media intelligence team.
