There had been no concrete indications of a PlayStation 6 until now. PlayStation CEO Nishino has now provided some hints. The technological leap will be “at least as big as the PS5.”
Considering the usual life cycle of PlayStation consoles, it will soon be time for Sony to take the next step. Apart from the switch from PS1 to PS2, there has always been a gap of around seven years between generations. The PS5 was released in 2020, so a successor would be expected in 2026 or 2027. However, there have been no concrete indications of this so far.
That has now changed. In a roundtable discussion, PlayStation CEO Hideaki Nishino confirmed the development of the next generation of consoles. According to Nishino, the technological leap will be “at least as big as the transition from PS4 to PS5.” He did not go into technical details.
Analysts expect price increases
Despite growing cloud gaming offerings, the console will continue to support classic game installations. The PS5 has sold over 77 million units. For Nishino, this is a clear signal: “The demand for powerful gaming hardware remains unbroken – even with rising prices.”
How much the PlayStation 6 will cost is still unknown. However, US analysts expect prices to rise and assume that it will be more expensive than the PS5. This assessment is based on the price of the PS5 Pro, which is around 800 euros. Competitor Nintendo also raised the price of the Switch 2 with much fanfare. By way of comparison, the first Switch cost around €330 when it was launched in 2017. The basic version of the Switch 2 costs €470.
“Pushing the boundaries of real-time game graphics”
Nishino did not disclose any technical details, but Jack Huynh, Senior Vice President at AMD, was much more specific on X. He referred to the Amethyst project, which envisages an architecture for games that is specially optimized for machine learning. The goal is to develop neural networks “that push the boundaries of real-time game graphics.”
According to Huynh, this is “not just theory,” but “a reality we are helping to create.” Together with its partners, AMD has set new standards ranging from hardware breakthroughs to software innovations: “We have developed smarter, more efficient solutions such as Super Resolution in FSR 4 – and are now paving the way for AI-based frame generation and ray regeneration in FSR Redstone.”
As described, players should be able to put the new console through its paces in 2027, according to the cycle. However, there is also speculation about 2028 – internal documents from the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard merger case point to this. A year that would also “feel right” for former PlayStation manager Shuhei Yoshida, as he explained in an interview with VentureBeat.
