‘Knack’ trademark recently filed by Sony in Japan

A trademark has been filed for Knack in Japan by Sony Interactive Entertainment.

The trademark itself was spotted by Gematsu and uploaded to Chizai Watch, the same place Sega filed a Sonic Frontiers trademark before its official announcement. There’s currently no other indication as to what the Knack trademark is for, or if Sony is just refiling it for copyright purposes.

Knack and Knack 2 are PS4 games developed by the now-defunct Japan Studio, which was slowly removed from the official Sony lineup last year. Both games were directed by Mark Cerny, an independent consultant and video game designer known for working with Sony on many of the PlayStation consoles.

Both Knack titles see the titular Knack navigating 3D platforming challenges, whilst he has the ability to change his size at will.

Whether or not this has anything to do with a potential Knack 3 remains to be seen, but the series has received a cult following online since the first game was released in 2013, with the sequel launching in 2017.

A Bloomberg report has suggested that Sony’s rival to Xbox Game Pass could be revealed this week, and a few journalists have also been pointing towards a series of announcements from the PlayStation manufacturer.

Codenamed Spartacus, it is said the revamped service will combine PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now, adding both newer titles and classic releases from PlayStation’s history. The main difference between Spartacus and Game Pass is that Sony’s service is not expected to give players day-one access to its big first-party releases.

In other news, Kirby And The Forgotten Land developer HAL Laboratory says it wants to “explore new genres” after the success of the pink sphere’s first 3D outing.