PSO2: New Genesis Late 2023 Roadmap will focus on new quests, anime collabs, and Creative Space features
Sega published a new roadmap for Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis throughout late 2023 in this month's NGS Headline program. While the past 2 years had seen the game receiving major updates of new regions and story episodes every 6 months, the new Ver.2 moniker will also change the way Sega delivers updates in the mid-term. The company will now focus on adding battle quests, Creative Space content, and collaboration content while splitting new story episodes into smaller chunks.
The smaller story updates are already seen when the first part of Chapter 6 was released on June 7. Sega will now release more parts of the story every 2 months, with Parts 2, 3, and 4 slated to launch in August, October, and December respectively. The company will also add new quests that range from in-game quizzes to new difficult enemies. The latter will include Venogia Vera — a variant of a boss enemy fought in Chapter 5 — and a Dark Falz-equivalent of the new Starless enemy species.
Creative Space has been the primary highlight of New Genesis' Ver.2 update when it launched earlier this month, and Sega will further expand this feature in the coming months. Each Alliance will be able to host their own Space in August, and there will be even more features added to it in October. Sega will also regularly add new build parts, starting with a new terrain set based on the Retem desert region in August.
In addition to new quests and Creative Space content, Sega will reinstate what the original PSO2 had been really known for during its active lifespan: A flurry of collaboration content from various external franchises.
The Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 scratch that kicks off after the June 28 maintenance is just the first of many anime titles that will feature after the Ver.2 major update. Sega will continue the collaboration train by adding new content from Uncle from Another World (Isekai Ojisan) in August. The program also teased more character content coming from an anime show newly airing this year in September, a Sci-Fi anime and Sci-Fi toy line between October and November, and an action anime title in December.
While the global release of the base PSO2 only included a handful of these collaboration scratches, most if not all of the new tie-ups seem set to be made available outside Japan too. However, it's also worth noting that the Japanese version of New Genesis still has exclusive collaboration content with apparel brands and restaurant chains that operate inside the country.
Other than the aforementioned new content, Sega will also regularly hold seasonal events that add new weapons and accessories among others. The first such event after this program will take place next July to celebrate the 11th anniversary of the original PSO2's Japanese launch.
You can watch archived versions of the June 2023 NGS Headline program right below. Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis is currently available on PC and PlayStation 4 worldwide. The free-to-play online game also has a Nintendo Switch cloud version in Japan and an Xbox One release elsewhere globally.