Dimensional Ink Games' superhero-themed MMORPG DC Universe Online has arrived on PlayStation 5. While previously playable on the console through backward compatibility, today marks the launch of a native PS5 client, which means powerful performance improvements and PS5 native features.
While the content remains the same as on the PS4, the native version of DCUO on PS5 will take better advantage of the system's hardware "for stronger performance, smoother framerates, faster load times, and natively runs at 4k."
In addition to the new release, Dimensional Ink Games also provided an updated roadmap of what's to come to the long-running MMORPG.
For the second quarter of 2024, the focus for Dimensional Ink Games will be on Episode 47: Brainiac Returns, which launches in May. The synopsis for the upcoming release reads:
Brainiac has returned! Seeking to learn from his previous defeats, he's launching an all-out assault on the Earth's ultimate symbols of hope and resistance, the Hall of Justice and the Hall of Doom. With the world hanging in the balance, the Justice League and Lex Luthor's Secret Society are forced to unite their powers and resources to thwart Brainiac's ingeniously malevolent plan.
New lead producer Kenn "Kendricke" White revealed that the team will soon wrap up work on the next base, "Sunstone Fortress." This new base and base layout is inspired by Superman's Fortress of Solitude and includes the game's first outdoor area. The base is expected to launch this April in celebration of Superman's anniversary.
There are also plans for the next seasonal event, Springtime, as well as new rewards for for Pride, and the Summer seasonal event, Tides of War.
Looking further ahead, the latter half of 2024 will celebrate the Year of the Dragon, and will see the return of Homecoming, Save the Universe, the Fall seasonal event, The Witching Hour, Extra Life, and the Winter seasonal event, Season’s Greedings.
And finally -- perhaps most excitingly -- Episode 48 is on track to release sooner than expected. Episode 48 is already in pre-production, but it's unfortunately too early for Dimensional Ink Games to share any hard details. Right now, Episode 48 is tentatively scheduled to launch in September, well ahead of the previous November window.
DC Universe Online is a free-to-play massively multiplayer online game set in the fictional universe of DC Comics. Developed by Dimensional Ink Games and co-published by Daybreak Game Company and WB Games, the game was originally released in 2011 for PC and PlayStation 3. It came to PS4 in November 2013, Xbox One in 2016, and Nintendo Switch in August 2019. With a native PS5 client now released, I expect we could also get one for Xbox Series X|S, although there was no mention of such plans.