What is The Matrix Awakens? That’s a question you might be asking yourself, especially if you’ve just seen a product with that name popping up on the store on your Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S or PS5 console.
You might be hoping that The Matrix Awakens is a fully-fledged video game tie-in for the hotly anticipated The Matrix Resurrections movie – like the 2003 adventure game Enter The Matrix, or the ambitious online offering The Matrix Online from 2005 – but you could end up disappointed if that is what you are wanting to see.
We’ll learn more about The Matrix Awakens during The Game Awards 2021, which are taking place tonight, but we’ve also included all of the information we can find below.
What is The Matrix Awakens?
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The Matrix Awakens is a tech demo that is launching today on all of the next-gen consoles, namely the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X/S.
The official description of The Matrix Awakens says it is a “free, boundary-pushing cinematic and real-time tech demo” that will offer “a glimpse into the future of interactive storytelling and entertainment”.
Created in Unreal Engine 5 as a collaboration between Epic Games, Warner Bros, Lana Wachowski and other members of The Matrix moviemaking team, this promises to be a stunning example of just how realistic gaming graphics have become.
The Matrix Awakens cast includes Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss, who are presumably reprising their roles as Neo and Trinity from The Matrix movies.
Is The Matrix Awakens a game?
No, The Matrix Awakens is not a game. At least not in the traditional sense. Rather, it is a demo that will showcase the power of next-gen consoles to produce near-photorealistic graphics.
We don’t know yet whether there will be any playable elements in The Matrix Awakens, or if it will just play out like a short film, but we look forward to finding out more.
When is The Matrix Awakens release date?
The Matrix Awakens release date appears to be 9th December 2021, with the official description of the demo inviting players to tune into The Game Awards on that date, “when the experience will be revealed”.
If you’re wondering how to watch The Game Awards 2021, which kick off at 1am tonight from the UK point of view, click the link in this sentence.
The Matrix Awakens trailer
An official teaser trailer for The Matrix Awakens has been shared, showing a digital Keanu Reeves looking utterly lifelike.
Reeves as Neo asks the viewer, “How do we know what is real?” And that’s quite a scary thought when you consider that the premise of The Matrix is that we’re all living unknowingly in a computer simulation.
If you can bare to have your reality questioned, take a look here:
How to download The Matrix Awakens
If you want to check out The Matrix Awakens, it is available to download now from the Xbox Store or the PlayStation Store. But remember, it will only be playable on the next-gen consoles.
Bad luck if you were hoping to check out The Matrix Awakens on an older console or a computer. As far as we know, there won’t be any way to try The Matrix Awakens on PC, PS4 or Xbox One. For those of us that are lucky enough to own a PS5, Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S, though, tonight should be a fun night!
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