The PlayStation 5 is selling much better than anyone could have imagined considering it was released during a pandemic, with a severe shortage of semiconductors and a global crisis.
Despite everything, it has sold like crazy and the numbers continue to improve month after month. This has led Sony to launch a mid-cycle PS5 Pro and they are currently designing its successor at the headquarters: the PlayStation 6.
In a recent statement, Sony’s Senior Vice President, Naomi Matsuoka, stated: “looking ahead, PS5 will enter the final phase of its life cycle.” Many in the industry interpreted that as meaning we could have news about the next PlayStation console sooner rather than later.
Taking into account that Sony has not yet broken its naming convention, it is reasonable to assume that the future home console will be called PlayStation 6. But not only has the name not been officially confirmed, but there has also been no mention of a next-generation PlayStation console or even a PS5 Pro.
It’s almost a guarantee, but technically nothing is set in stone. Rumors and possible leaks have already started to generate excitement, so let’s see what the future of PlayStation could be according to the rumors.
Possible release date of PlayStation 6
The biggest clue about when a PS6 could be released, or at least could have been planned at some point, points to 2027. This information comes from an official Microsoft court document in the context of the acquisition of Activision Blizzard: “By the time SIE would release the next generation of its PlayStation console (which would probably happen around 2027), it would have lost access to Call of Duty.”
The date is stated here, and detectives have connected the dots between this and the agreement that Microsoft offered to Sony to keep Activision Blizzard games on PlayStation consoles until 2027. This suggests that, at the earliest, Microsoft did not believe there would be a new PlayStation before 2027.
If we look at past generations, that time span coincides with the lifespans of previous generations. The PlayStation 4 was around for seven years before the PS5 was released, and the PlayStation 3 was also around for seven years before its successor appeared.
The PS5 was released in 2020, which means that 2027 would leave us with a seven-year console cycle again. We wouldn’t bet for sure on 2027, but anything from late 2027 seems like a safe bet.
How much will the PS6 cost?
It is impossible to accurately estimate the price of PS6. Until we know all the details about its specifications, we can’t even begin to make rough calculations to determine its cost.
However, considering the previous prices and the rumored specifications, it is difficult to imagine it costing less than 500 dollars at the time of its launch, if not closer to the dreaded 600 dollars.
Specifications and new features
The exact specifications of the PS6 are a bit scarce. Moore’s Law is Dead has claimed to know “with 100% certainty that Sony will continue its partnership with AMD to power the PS6 and the PS5 Pro”.
This would make sense, since it is the same chipset used in the PS5, so sticking with it would make things like backward compatibility and cross-generational games much easier. The next generation of AMD chips is expected to be released in 2025, so the PS6 could be manufactured with them.
We suspect that a new SSD will be included, as it was one of the main drivers for the PS5 to reduce loading times, but nothing has been leaked about it.
By the time PS6 is released, we can also expect at least 1 TB of storage, especially if the console ends up being digital-only.
Insider Gaming claims to have a document about a very exclusive feature that is being worked on for the PS6, called PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR). According to Insider Gaming, this technology will allow games to run at 4K and 120 frames per second (fps) or at 8K and 60 fps.
A trimmed-down version of PSSR is supposedly being implemented in the PS5 Pro, but it will be fully utilized in the PS6.
