As with many of PlayStation’s first party studios, Housemarque are known for supporting their titles with pretty major – yet free – updates. With regards to Returnal, the studio added a whole new side mode; co-op multiplayer; visual improvements and more. Taking a similar path, Housemarque’s Saros is getting its own suite of exciting updates.

Making the announcement during the console maker’s most recent State of Play, PlayStation officially showed off and detailed “Zenith, the next big free content update to SAROS.”

Set to go live some time later this year, the free update will introduce a bunch of new modes and quality-of-life features, including:

• Overlord Rush (boss rush with global leaderboards)
• Eclipse Layers (New Game Plus mode featuring more progression options, new Carcosan Modifiers and other “secrets”)
• Additional accessibility options (gyro-aiming; game speed; high contrast visuals)

Already a fun and replayable experience, the upcoming Zenith update will give players even more reason to hop back into Saros. It will be interesting to see whether this update helps to draw in more players.

KitGuru says: Have you picked up Saros yet? What do you think of this update? How does it compare to Returnal’s Ascension update? Let us know down below.

Though not quite a household name, Housemarque’s cache has risen greatly in recent years, thanks to their acquisition by PlayStation as well as the PS5 launches of both Returnal and Saros. Founded by Harri Tikkanen and Ilari Kuittinen back in 1995, the latter of the two has now officially announced his departure from Housemarque.

Taking to Twitter to make the announcement, Housemarque's co-founder Ilari Kuittinen wrote: “After 33 years in the games industry and 31 incredible years at Housemarque – the studio I co-founded with Harri Tikkanen – today marks my last day as a Housemarquean.”

The full statement includes plenty of pleasantries thanking fellow developers; friends; fans and the industry as a whole. In terms of how this affects the studio, plans were said to have been already put in place, with Sami Hakala officially taking on the role of Managing Director this past July.

While Saros failed to immediately push Housemarque to the mainstream, the studio has consistently released excellent titles over the past 30 years – culminating in two of their best and most ambitious projects. After 3 decades at the studio, Ilari Kuittinen has certainly earned a much-needed rest.

The creative concluded with the following: “Strive to be a better professional, and a better human being. Take care of each other, speak with courage, and keep pushing the boundaries of what games can be.”

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KitGuru says: What do you think of this latest announcement? Was it simply time for Kuittinen to move on? Between Saros and Returnal, which do you prefer? Let us know down below.

Last year's Ghost of Yotei is currently this year's best-selling first-party PlayStation Studios title, according to a new report from Alinea Analytics. The latest from Sucker Punch is closing in on an estimated 5 million copies sold since launch, the report claims, and as we officially transition to the back-half of 2026, it's estimated 1.1 million copies sold within 2026 is carrying the load for PlayStation's first-party portfolio. That's not the biggest shock, considering the only other first-party PlayStation releases so far this year are Marathon and Saros, both games that received heavy critical praise, but neither has been able […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/ghost-of-yotei-nears-5m-copies-sold-carrying-the-load-playstation-first-party-2026/

Saros, the new third-person bullet-hell shooter from PlayStation Studios' team Housemarque arrived right at the tail-end of the past month on April 30, and while it's undoubtedly a hit with critics (our own Kai Tatsumoto included), it doesn't appear to be making the same impact on the sales charts, at least according to the latest estimations from Alinea Analytics. The firm's latest report focused on the new first-party PS5 exclusive title, estimating that it has been able to sell over 300,000 copies in its first two weeks on PlayStation store shelves, with an estimated $22 million in gross revenue earned […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/saros-off-to-slower-start-than-returnal-300k-copies-sold/

While Housemarque has existed for 30 years now, the studio saw its biggest hit with the release of 2021’s excellent 3rd person roguelike shooter Returnal – representing one of the highest-rated games in the studio’s history. With the upcoming Saros set to be a spiritual successor of sorts to Returnal, it comes as little surprise that critic reviews for the follow-up place it as Housemarque’s best work yet.

With a Metacritic score of 88 and an Open Critic rating of 89, Saros is officially Housemarque’s highest rated game of all time – surpassing their previous best ‘Nex Machina: Death Machine’ (with a score of 88) and Returnal of course (landing at an 86).

Described as “a nearly flawless gem of an action game” Saros resonated with many who enjoyed the hectic-yet-purposeful gameplay seen with Returnal.

Across all fronts however, Saros seems to be a step up from their previous work: “expanding the narrative component, strengthening progression, and introducing systems that seek to make the experience more modular and less punishing.”

That said, its weakest element seems to be its narrative, described as being “at odds” with itself sometimes.

Still, Saros looks to be a clear step-up from what was already an excellent and compelling game. It will be interesting to see what fans think of the title when it officially arrives on the 30th of April.

KitGuru says: Are you planning to pick up Saros? Does it look to be everything you'd want from a Returnal follow-up? Let us know down below.

One of the first major current-gen exclusives for the PlayStation 5 was Returnal, the bullet-hell rougelike from first-party studio Housemarque that arrived a few months after the launch of the console on April 30, 2021. Now, five years after that launch, Housemarque is back with a spiritual successor in Saros. Saros isn't a narrative continuation to Returnal, as it features a new cast of characters and a new story for players to dive into, but it is a sequel in terms of how the gameplay evolves from Returnal to Saros. This round-up will go through everything you need to know […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/roundup/saros-everything-we-know/

The next major PlayStation Studios release for 2026, now that Bungie's extraction shooter Marathon is in players' hands, is Saros. The follow-up to Returnal from developer Housemarque, the game is set to arrive exclusively on PS5 on April 30, 2026, and looks like it'll be just as challenging and bullet-crazy as Returnal. As we get closer to launch, Housemarque has shown off more gameplay in a new trailer that also specifically showcases the PS5-exclusive features players will be able to enjoy when they load the game up next month. Things like haptic feedback and adaptive triggers on the DualSense controllers, […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/housemarque-shows-new-saros-gameplay-ps5-features-ahead-of-launch/