Last Sentinel: Everything We Know

LightSpeed LA, a subsidiary of Tencent’s LightSpeed Studios division, has brought a whole new cyberpunk IP to the chalkboard—a Tokyo-based action-adventure game that will look to fuse dystopian fantasy with a thick, in-your-face combat system. Rest assured that, while there isn’t a huge amount of information on the project, much less its gameplay features, the aptly titled Last Sentinel is to be the product of numerous industry titans, many of whom have worked on cult classics such as Grand Theft Auto, The Last of Us, Red Dead Redemption, and Uncharted. So, hardly your bog-standard corridor shooter, after all.

Thanks to The Game Awards, which aired on December 7, 2023, we do have a sufficient amount of content to share on the upcoming IP. Care to stick around for the whole spiel as we delve into the nooks and crannies of the dystopian universe? Then let’s press on. Here’s everything you need to know about Last Sentinel.

What Is Last Sentinel?

Last Sentinel is an upcoming open-world cyberpunk action game by LightSpeed LA—a triple-A product that will aim to deliver “an utterly unique environment, cast, narrative, and gameplay experience” from within the confines of a futuristic Tokyo, Japan. Think Deus Ex-meets-Cyberpunk 2077, and you’ll have a rough idea of what it’s getting at.

“Last Sentinel is our massively ambitious debut title and showcases the Lightspeed LA vision to prioritize the player’s experience and immersion above all else,” said Lightspeed LA general manager Steve C. Martin in a press release. “Lightspeed LA is laser focused on a developer-led approach that fosters creativity and delivers original, interactive narrative art while leveraging our ample resources, extensive experience, and state-of-the-art facilities to build the richest and most rewarding experiences for our players.”

“LightSpeed Studios is proud to support Lightspeed LA, the AAA game development studio operating independently in our globally coordinated model, in crafting Last Sentinel, our exciting new AAA open-world game,” LightSpeed Studios president Jerry Chen added. “The deeply developed experience brought by Last Sentinel reflects our commitment to pushing the boundaries of innovation in the gaming industry that will captivate gaming enthusiasts worldwide.”

Story

According to LightSpeed LA, “Last Sentinel puts the spotlight on protagonist Hiromi Shoda and takes place in a futuristic world centered in what remains of Tokyo, Japan. Featuring an utterly unique environment, cast, narrative, and gameplay experience, Last Sentinel is soaked in the written, graphic, and theatrical history of dystopian science fiction.” That’s quite the boast.

Story-wise, there isn’t a whole lot to say, what with LightSpeed Studios remaining rather quiet on the matter. That said, we do know that it’ll center its world around a guardian of some sort (hence, the last sentinel) in a drone-powered sci-fi dystopia. So, expect to have the weight of the world on your shoulders, basically.

Gameplay

LightSpeed LA hasn’t lifted the veil on all that many details just yet, so we can’t really comment on the gameplay aspects for the time being. However, one thing is for sure: Last Sentinel is an “open-world AAA” game that’ll be set in a futuristic version of Tokyo. That doesn’t give us a whole lot to go on, but it’s a start, at least.

Development

Be among the first 1,000 people to sign up for the LAST SENTINEL newsletter, and you’ll automatically become part of Cohort 1 and receive an exclusive, limited-edition skin for your character. #lastsentinelgame #LightspeedLA #LightSpeedStudio pic.twitter.com/eYAdHof5EY

— Last Sentinel Game (@_lastsentinel) December 10, 2023

In case you’ve yet to connect the dots, Last Sentinel is being headed up by a whole bunch of former Rockstar Games employees, which means various infusions from titles such as Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption, and even Bully, for that matter, are bound to channel their ways into the upcoming IP. It’s also being led by Steve Martin, a prominent figure who’s previously worked at both Rockstar Games and Electronic Arts over a healthy twenty-five-year period. So, if you happen to have any concerns over the team in charge of the upcoming cyberpunk chapter — don’t, basically. It’s in perfectly good hands, and the team’s portfolio is more than enough to remind us of that fact.

For additional context, LightSpeed LA is also one of the many, many cogs in China-based Tencent’s enterprise, which has gone on to spawn countless award-winning games, including PUBG Mobile. Tencent, as a company, also has shares in several triple-A studios, including Fortnite’s Epic Games and League of Legends’ Riot Games. So again, hardly any reason to fret over the lack of experience on LightSpeed LA’s part.

When it comes to the game’s current state, it’s hard to say just how far along it really is. Having said that, LightSpeed LA did post a couple of job offerings at the beginning of 2022, which of course means the project has been in active development for a minimum of two years. As for when it’ll release is still anybody’s guess, though if we had to put a pin on it, then we’d probably have to favor a loose early 2025 launch.

Trailer

In light of The Game Awards’ showcase drawing to a close, we do have a rather nifty cinematic of Last Sentinel to share — if only to tide you over whilst the devs continue to cross the t’s and dot the i’s. Need we say more? You can catch a glimpse of what’s to come in the upcoming cyberpunk IP in the trailer embedded above.

Release Date, Platforms & Editions

At the time of writing, the release date for Last Sentinel is still being kept under wraps. That said, we do know that the game has been in active development for a number of years, which of course leads us to believe that it could, with any luck, arrive a lot sooner than we initially thought. It’s also likely to arrive on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC, too — a probability that could very well leave pre-next generation users in the dark.

Interested in staying up to date with LightSpeed Studios’ debut game? If so, then be sure to check in with the team over on their official social handle here. If anything even the slightest bit newsworthy pops up ahead of its global launch, we’ll be sure to fill you in on all the key details right here on gaming.net.