Another analyst says Sony’s planning on delaying the PS6 even further, but warns too long a gap could be detrimental.
Based on how past console generations have worked, you’d normally expect the PlayStation 5 to have about run its course by now, and we’d be on the cusp of the PlayStation 6 launching in the next year or two.
But, despite it being more than five years old, many feel the PlayStation 5 hasn’t reached its peak yet. In fact, while the console is enjoying strong sales, it’s a common joke that it has no games, which is more a complaint about its lack of major first party exclusives.
As such, some argue that it’s still too soon for the PlayStation 6 to come out. There have already been rumblings of a delay for Sony’s next console, but it’s now suggested that delay could be longer than anticipated.
This comes from a report by games analyst David Gibson of Sandstone Insights Japan, which touches upon Sony’s third quarter results for the 2025 fiscal year (October to December).
Sony won’t be sharing the results itself until February 5, but Gibson estimates that the company’s gaming division has had another strong quarter, with another 8.5 million PlayStation 5 sales thanks to Christmas discounts (which were unusually generous last year).
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Gibson adds, however, that Sony now expects the PlayStation 5’s life cycle to ‘be longer than the previous generation,’ in reference to the PlayStation 4 in particular.
That console launched in 2013 and although it’s yet to be officially discontinued, it did fade away by 2021… only to be resurrected in 2022 to counteract the PlayStation 5’s stock issues.
If true, then Sony is preparing to keep supporting the PlayStation 5 beyond 2028, with Gibson suggesting that the PlayStation 6 could be pushed back even later.
He doesn’t estimate a potential release year, only adding that too long a delay for new hardware invites ‘long-term risks.’
It would make plenty of sense for Sony to hold back its PlayStation 6 plans. Rising costs means the console’s going to be very expensive and not everyone is going to be eager to jump ship from PlayStation 5 to 6, given dissatisfaction with the current generation.
Not to mention there’s the ongoing memory shortage, which is expected to persist into 2027 and is making RAM an even more expensive commodity. Gibson brings this up in his report and while he thinks the higher prices will ‘not affect business performance in the short term,’ they stand to become problematic by next year.
He doesn’t touch upon GTA 6’s launch, which is bound to drive up hardware sales for the PlayStation 5 when it finally arrives this November. With that only a year or so before the PlayStation 6’s projected launch, Sony wouldn’t want to cap any momentum for the PlayStation 5 by trying to push a brand new console.
GTA 6’s delays have been a frequent source of frustration for fans and the wider industry, but the prospect of a PlayStation 6 delay seems to be far less contentious.
Gibson’s report has been shared over on the PlayStation 5 subreddit, and a lot of people genuinely hope Sony does push the PlayStation 6 back by a few extra years.
‘I really don’t mind if the PlayStation 6 doesn’t come out for another three or four years. The PlayStation 5 is still in great shape,’ says bjones214, adding that they feel nothing has ‘really pushed the console yet.’
Xecess expresses satisfaction with their PS5 Pro, especially since it’s rumoured to be getting a significant update in the coming months: ‘All games run at high res with 60+ frames per second anyway, there isn’t really going to be anything significantly heavy anytime soon that would require a PlayStation 6 to run well.’
A handful also blame the coronavirus pandemic for hampering the PlayStation 5, since the console launched in the pandemic’s first year, which had an obvious impact on hardware production and game development.
It also feels like Sony kneecapped itself by putting so many of its studios to work on ill-fated live service games (many of which have reportedly been cancelled), thus giving them no time to spend on traditional single-player fare.
Although Sony remains committed to making live service games (with the next one – Marathon – out in March and Fairgames still to come), it’ll hopefully get back on track this year with the launches of Returnal successor Saros and the long awaited Wolverine game.
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