A new report may hint that the PlayStation 6 (PS6) release may come earlier than expected.
The PlayStation 5 is set to have a banner year in 2025, with massive games such as Yotei’s ghost and GTA 6 is expected to debut on the console in the next 12 months, but some argue that this generation has been a bit lackluster so far.
The PlayStation 5 turns five this year, and many feel it has yet to come into its own among Sony’s other main consoles. And with the idea of another PlayStation on the horizon – as console generations tend to last seven or nine years at a time – some believe the PS5 may never get the chance.
A new leak could point to the release year of the PS6
An alleged tech leak could be the first hint at the launch window for the PlayStation 6 (PS6) — and it’s coming soon.
According to Neogaf leaker Kepler_L2, Sony’s next-generation console is already deep in development, so it is said to be completed in processor development under the name A0 Tapeout by the end of the year.
This is the final step in processor development, where the design process for integrated circuits or printed circuit boards is locked down and prepared for full-scale manufacturing.
While it may not be surprising that work on the next PlayStation has already begun, the fact that it appears to be so far along in development is a shock.
Typically, Tapeout on future PlayStation consoles has happened about two years before the machine’s inevitable release.
This could mean that if the processor design is completed by the end of 2025 – as these reports seem to indicate – PS6 release already in 2027 could be possible.
Could the PS6 really come out in 2027?
This 2027 PS6 release report is consistent with Sony’s previous messages.
During the 2024 earnings call, Sony VP Naomi Matsuoka revealed that the PS5 is just around the corner “the latter stage of its life cycle”, which means that sales will likely begin to decline once the console reaches a level of audience saturation:
“In the future, the PS5 will enter the latter stage of its life cycle. Thus, we will invest even more in the balance between profitability and sales. For this reason, we expect the annual sales rate of PS5 devices to decrease from next fiscal year.”
If the PS5 hits the halfway mark in 2024 (four years after launch), a PS6 release in 2027 or 2028 would make sense.
That would only be six or seven years after the release of the PS5 (which is pretty standard for PlayStation consoles), but some have scoffed at the idea, believing it’s way too early for Sony’s next console.
Reddit user RoyAodi summed up the thoughts of many PS6 launch skeptics by saying, “Compared to PS4’s game list, PS5 doesn’t seem to have many memorable titles.” For this reason, some may think that a release in two years is too early:
“Compared to PS4’s game list, PS5 doesn’t seem to have many memorable titles. And that’s why I still feel that PS5 is quite new. I’m still waiting for it to have one game that matches ‘God of War’ or ‘Bloodborne’.” “‘
These pressure points have become even worse when several PS5 must-have games have also come to PlayStation 4 (e.g. God of War: Ragnarok and Elden Ring), leading some to believe that the PS5 is just the beginning.
However, the PS5 may already be slowly making its way to the back nine. Only a handful of PlayStation Studios titles have been announced for this second phase of the console’s life – viz Ghosts of Yotei, Wolverine (which could possibly come out this year), and Naughty Dog’s recently announced Intergalactic.
With the exception of maybe one or two other games, this game coin could very well be the three major PS5 titles that Sony’s first party has left for the console, and that’s assuming Intergalactic is designed for console at all.
It might be disappointing for fans to hear, but it looks like the PS6 is looming, and the PS5 will soon take a back seat just like all previous Sony consoles were when the new next-gen console was introduced.
