With CES 2025 in full swing, one of the more intriguing exhibits at the trade show is a proof-of-concept entertainment experience from Sony. The PlayStation company is currently showing off what a future gaming room could look and smell like, as it’s demoing what is essentially the closest thing possible to a Star Trek holodeck.
According to Sony, the Future Immersive Entertainment Concept combines Crystal LED panels, audio, haptics, scent, and atmospherics with a PlayStation game like The Last of Us to create an interactive experience. You could compare this to a 4D version of Duck Hunt but with people horribly mutated by a fictional cordyceps fungus instead of mallards, and we don’t even want to know what rotting mushroom-monsters smell like in a world bereft of personal hygiene products.
Visually, it’s a convincing step into that bleak world thanks to the realistic graphics. This isn’t the first time that Sony has revealed conceptual gaming hardware, as back in May 2024, the company showed off a high-tech PlayStation controller in a promotional video, teasing a radical departure from the standard DualSense device.
In other The Last of Us news, a new teaser trailer for the second season of the HBO live-action adaptation of the game has debuted this week, and has also confirmed a release window of April 2025 for the show. Developer Naughty Dog has also hinted at continuing the game series with The Last of Us Part 3 and the studio is currently working on a sci-fi adventure called Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet.