The PS6 seems inevitable – sure, Sony hasn’t explicitly confirmed that it is working on a next-gen PlayStation console yet, but it is starting to suggest that the PS5 is entering its later life. As a result, many PlayStation fans are already looking ahead and want to know as much about the PS6 as they can.
While the PS5 is certainly one of the best games consoles ever, we live in a world were technology moves fast. While Sony can match that pace to some degree with a mid-generation Pro version of the PS5, a time will eventually come where a whole new system is needed to push the scope and quality of the best games forward. Below we’ll collate any official info we can find about the next generation of PlayStation hardware.
Has the PS6 been confirmed?
No, Sony has not technically confirmed that it is developing a next-gen console. However, due to other comments made by PlayStation executives, insight from industry experts, and the fact that PlayStation consoles sell incredibly well, it would be an enormous, industry-shaking shock if Sony didn’t release a PS6 console.
Let’s go over all the evidence that points towards the future release of the PS6.
First, we’ll examine some comments made by notable PlayStation employees in the past about Sony’s cadence when it comes to releasing new consoles. While they don’t explicitly mention the PlayStation 6, they do imply that there will be another generation of hardware after the PS5.
“Indeed, in the past, the cycle for a new platform was seven to ten years, but in view of the very rapid development and evolution of technology, it’s really a six to seven year platform cycle,” said Masayasu Ito, Sony’s former executive vice president of hardware engineering and operations in a 2019 article from Game Informer. “Then we cannot fully catch up with the rapid development of the technology, therefore our thinking is that as far as a platform is concerned for the PS5, it’s a cycle of maybe six to seven years.” As the PS5 was launched in 2020, that would suggest that it would come to the end of its life cycle in 2026 or 2027.
This is further supported by more recent comments made in February 2024 by Sony’s senior vice president Naomi Matsuoka, who is quoted by Bloomberg as saying that the PS5 was entering the “latter stage of its life cycle. The PS5 was around three and a half years old when this comment was made, which lines up with that roughly seven-year life cycle Ito talked about.
Official court documents from Microsoft’s trial against the FTC during its bid to acquire Activision Blizzard also mention Sony’s plans to release next-gen hardware. As highlighted by VGC, Microsoft said in one document:
“Microsoft has offered to continue making Activision’s games available on PlayStation only until 2027… By the time SIE launched the next generation of its PlayStation console (which is likely to occur around [redacted]), it would have lost access to Call of Duty and other Activision titles, making it extremely vulnerable to consumer switching and subsequent degradation in its competitiveness.”
Respected industry analysts are also already talking about the PlayStation 6 and when it may arrive. This article from IGN quotes Omdia’s senior analyst George Jijiashvili and NPD’s Mat Piscatella, who both claim Sony is aiming for 2027 or 2028 to release a next-gen PlayStation console.
You also have to see what Sony’s main console rival, Microsoft, has said about the next generation. It has already confirmed that it’s working on a next-gen Xbox, and seeing as PlayStation consoles have historically outsold Xbox consoles, Sony would be handing its competitors an easy win if it didn’t challenge it with next-gen PlayStation hardware.
So, even though there is no official confirmation of next-gen PlayStation hardware yet, it seems inevitable that an announcement will come some time in the future. Microsoft has jumped the gun very early to confirm its tenth generation console, but we don’t expect to hear about the PS6 for quite a while yet.
For now, you’ll have to sit back, relax, and enjoy some of the best PS5 games or patiently await some of the new PS5 games that are on the horizon.