With Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart releasing later this week, developers Insomniac Games are teasing a crossover with its previous franchise, Sunset Overdrive. Tweets posted on the official Insomniac account earlier this week portray the latter game’s protagonist teleporting through one of Rift Apart’s multi-dimensional portals. It certainly seems like a crossover is possible.
Even more, Rift Apart is set to be a PlayStation exclusive, while Sunset Overdrive released as an Xbox exclusive. So not only would Insomniac be meshing franchises, but it’d also be mixing console fanbases. Initially, Insomniac produced the Resistance series as PlayStation 3 exclusives, before Sunset Overdrive released solely on Xbox One.
Since then, they’ve reverted back to PlayStation, releasing Spider-Man in 2018, Miles Morales in 2020, and Rift Apart this year. While Sunset Overdrive received a PC port in 2018, it never came to PlayStation consoles. This teaser, however, might mean a crossover of some sort is on the cards.
Of course, this tweet isn’t concrete proof that Sunset Overdrive will crossover with Ratchet & Clank. The Insomniac account also tweeted images of gaming icons like Nathan Drake and Sly Cooper exploring Rift Apart’s portals, meaning it could just be a fun promotional nod. However, there are two significant factors here. First is that Sunset Overdrive is an Xbox console exclusive game. Secondly, it’s also a previous Insomniac project, meaning it’s a franchise closely tied to PlayStation developers.
If it does lead to a crossover, it’s hard to predict what that would include. Previous promotional material confirmed the presence of in-game purchases, meaning a Sunset Overdrive skin-set could appear in the game. Equally, it could tease an eventual port of the game over to PlayStation. It might even suggest a Sunset Overdrive sequel – it’s pretty unclear right now. Even if it’s just a little nod to Insomniac fans, it proves the developers haven’t left previous projects behind.
Only time will tell, but the acknowledgment of Sunset Overdrive certainly suggests it’ll play a role in the future of Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart.
