It won’t go down in history as Sony’s best-kept secret, but it’s notable nonetheless. The news is now out the bag – PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale is real. The announcement came via GTTV and it follows months of rumours and leaks.

Developed by SuperBot Entertainment alongside Santa Monica Studios, PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale is a four-player brawler played across multi-tiered 2D stages. It features iconic PlayStation characters and some third-party ones.

The following fighters have been announced: Kratos, Sweet Tooth, Parappa, Fat Princess, Colonel Radec and Sly Cooper. So far the only real major icon is Kratos. The rest are largely B or C class, unless you consider Parappa (of the Rapper fame) and Fat Princess among the elite.

Expect Sony to trickle out the rest of the big names over the coming months. A PlayStation All-Stars without Nathan Drake? Yeah, right, that’s going to happen.

It’s clear as day that PlayStation All-Star’s main influence is Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. More so, unlike Sports Champions (an attempt to make a serious version of Wii Sports), this appears to stick very closely to the Smash Bros. format.

PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale joins LittleBigPlanet Karting in ushering us into PS3′s next chapter. This is classic Sony strategy. Once the console reaches an affordable price (usually under £199), the line-up diversifies to accommodate younger and more casual gamers.

PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale is due for release in the holiday season. What’s the chances of a big E3 announcement of new family-friendly bundles (PS Move included) and an attractive price cut for Christmas?