As Nike continues to “open the vault” — a social media colloquialism referring to recent leaks of the brand’s plans to retro coveted, closely guarded sneakers — more storied styles are purported to return. While many of these are strictly rumors at this point, there are certain shoes, such as the “Wu-Tang” Dunk High and Undefeated x Air Jordan 4, which are all but confirmed to launch in the near future. Another pair that appears to be returning in some form during 2025 is Nike’s Air Force 1 PlayStation collaboration with Sony.
Sources indicate that the PlayStation x Nike Air Force 1 Low, originally produced in 2006, is set to return as a retail release in ’25. Only 150 individually numbered pairs were made of the ’06 version, making it an extremely collectible and sought after item in today’s market. According to Nike, before proceeding with the patent leather iteration of the shoe that most fans know, it presented a different sample version to the PlayStation team.
That pair was constructed with a premium black leather and red shoelaces, but Sony wanted a shinier look, which led to the patent leather build. The red laces were also ultimately replaced with purple, but the rest of the shoes remained mostly the same. Aside from the glossy patent leather, the sneaker’s signature feature is its PlayStation-colored gradient fade at the heel, which also includes embroidery of the “PS” logo. The arrival of the ’06 version was timed with the release of the Sony PlayStation 3 video game console.
As sneaker culture’s popularity increased, pairs like the PlayStation x Nike Air Force 1 became iconic. There’s a famous photo of late NBA legend Kobe Bryant reacting to seeing the sneakers. The shoes regularly bring in thousands at auction houses such as Sotheby’s. Nike has worked with Sony in other capacities through the years including a new version of the Air Force 1 in 2018, numerous collaborations on Paul George’s signature sneakers and a three-way collaboration with Travis Scott on the Dunk to mark the arrival of the PlayStation 5.
At this stage, it’s not yet known if the ’25 PlaySation x Nike Air Force 1 will resemble the unreleased sample version or the patent leather look, but it’s expected to follow the design of the coveted ’06 pair. See both versions of the shoe below and check back for more updates on this release soon.
