Sony’s senior vice president, Naomi Matsuoka, recently stated that the PS5 will “enter the final phase of its lifecycle.” This was seen by many in the industry as a suggestion that a new PlayStation system would be coming sooner rather than later.
Given that Sony hasn’t deviated from its naming scheme before, it seems reasonable to assume that PlayStation 6 will be the name of any upcoming home system. Not only has the name not been officially confirmed, but the concept of the PS5 Pro or even the PlayStation next-gen console has not been made public. While this is practically a given, nothing is certain. Excitement is already building with speculation and possible leaks, so let’s see what the rumors have to say about the future of the PlayStation.
Release date speculation
The best indication of when the PS6 will launch, or when it was originally intended, is 2027. The following details are taken from a Microsoft official court filing regarding the Activision Blizzard acquisition: “SIE will have lost access to Call of Duty. By the time it launched its next-generation PlayStation console, Which is likely to be around.” That date has been suppressed, but spies have linked it to Microsoft’s deal with Sony to keep Activision Blizzard games on PlayStation platforms until 2027.
That period corresponds to the life spans of previous generations, if we look back in time. The PlayStation 3 was around for seven years before its successor appeared, and the PlayStation 4 had seven years until the PS5 launched. Since the PS5 was released in 2020, a seven-year console cycle will begin again in 2027. While we certainly wouldn’t bet on 2027, anything that happens in late 2027 and beyond looks likely.
Price
It’s difficult to determine the price of the PS6 with any degree of accuracy. We can’t even begin to estimate the price until we have concrete information about the specifications inside. Given historical pricing and rumored details, it would be hard to imagine it going below $500 at launch, if not closer to the $600 level.
Specs
Exact PS6 specs are a little harder to come by. According to Moore’s Law deed, “it is a given that Sony will maintain its collaboration with AMD to power the PS6 and PS5 Pro.” This makes sense since the PS5 also uses the same chipset, so sticking with it will facilitate features like cross-generation gaming and backward compatibility. Given that the next generation of AMD CPUs is expected to be available in 2025, the PS6 could be built using such chips.
While no information has been released, we believe a new SSD will be included as this was a significant effort to nearly eliminate loading times with the PS5.
Features
According to Insider Gaming, a document has surfaced regarding PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR), a very special feature being developed for the PS6. According to Insider Gaming, this technology will reportedly enable games to run at 120 frames per second (fps) in 4K or 60 fps in 8K. The PS5 Pro is rumored to be using a less powerful form of PSSR, however, the PS6 will reportedly use the strongest version.
