Summary
Sony was once working on the sequels toPlayStation VitaclassicsFreedom WarsandSoul Sacrifice, a senior company official has revealed. However, the gaming giant eventually canceled both projects, abandoning them alongside thePS Vitaitself.
Originally released between December 2011 and February 2012, depending on the market, thePS Vita ended up being one of the shortest-lived consolesthat a major manufacturer put out this century. Sony officially gave up on making first-party Vita games in 2015. One of its final major attempts at showcasing the device’s capabilities wasFreedom Wars, an action RPG by Tokyo-based studio Dimps that received widespread praise following its 2014 release.
WhileFreedom Warseffectively marked the beginning of the end for thePS Vita’s first-party library, Sony initially had different plans, which included greenlighting a sequel to the critically acclaimed ARPG. That’s according to former Sony Interactive Entertainment President Shuhei Yoshida, whosaidas much during a recent episode of Last Stand Media’sSacred Symbols+podcast. The SIE veteran also revealed that Sony was working on a follow-up toSoul Sacrifice, another Vita-exclusive ARPG, which debuted to an immense critical reception in 2013.
PS4 Got in the Way of Freedom Wars 2 and Soul Sacrifice 2
Sony eventually canceled both projects, with Yoshida citing the then-newly-startedconsole generationas the chief reason for the decision. “We were actually working onSoul Sacrifice 2andFreedom Wars 2, but because of budget limitations, we had to stop and move on to PS4,” the veteran gaming executive recalled.
Yoshida didn’t clarify exactly how long theFreedom WarsandSoul Sacrificesequels were in the works at the time of their cancellation. He did, however, suggest that the PS4 accelerated the PS Vita’s demise even beyond pulling resources from newFreedom WarsandSoul Sacrificetitles. Had Sony’s focus not shifted to PS4 first parties at the time, the Vita would have received more spin-offs of flagship PlayStation IPs in the vein ofUncharted: Golden AbyssandKillzone: Mercenary, according to Yoshida.
We were actually working on Soul Sacrifice 2 and Freedom Wars 2, but because of budget limitations, we had to stop and move on to PS4.
While it shelvedFreedom Wars 2, Sony later committed resources to making sure the original remains widely available.These efforts resulted inFreedom Wars Remastered, which debuted in January 2025. Despite being a PlayStation IP, the remaster received Nintendo Switch and PC ports, released alongside its PS4 and PS5 versions. In contrast,Soul Sacrificeis still officially confined to the PS Vita, with Sony offering no indication that the 2014 title will receive a remaster, despite persistent fan pleas.
