Leaks and rumors about Sony’s upcoming PlayStation 6 have been swirling for a little while, but recently, a few things have started to take shape. In one of the most recent updates about the future gaming console, some details have emerged that the PS6 may not be targeting a 2027 release date as some had suspected, and could arrive a year or two later instead. But this disappointing statement might not be such a bad thing in reality.
With Xbox’s strategy pivoting dramatically in the last year, there have been many questions asked about what future consoles, such as the PlayStation 6, will be up against. But the question of a new console can seem a little premature. Sure, the PlayStation 5 has been out for almost five years, but it doesn’t particularly feel like it. While it is a technical achievement by itself, most of the discussion around Sony’s leading platform has been about how underwhelming its tenure has felt.
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The PlayStation 6’s Rumored Release Date Is A Blessing for PlayStation 5 Owners
While it is a shame that the PlayStation 6 is unlikely to come out in 2027, with leakers suggesting 2028 or 2029 are more likely, this only benefits the PS5. Sony’s current-generation console has been through a strange lifecycle, with the pandemic shortages making it almost unavailable for more than a year. Even after receiving significant restocks, the console has been battling mixed feelings, with the PS5 Pro’s pricing controversy only adding fuel to the fire. Simply put, the PS5 doesn’t feel like it has proved its value yet, and that’s not the thing Sony wants to hear for a console that should be entering the latter half of its support cycle.
PS5’s Exclusivity Problem
One of the key reasons for the generally low enthusiasm for the PS5 has been its lack of exclusives. At this point in the PS4’s lifespan, the console had a sizable chunk more games available for it exclusively, including iconic PS4 titles such as Bloodborne. While exclusives can be an annoyance to those who don’t own the system, they are what often sell consoles, and owners of the console want to feel like they have gotten enough value from their purchase. It isn’t like Sony’s studios have been sitting idly by, either, as plenty of Sony exclusives have come out in the PS5’s time, but with so many of them playable on PS4 and later PC, there has been little reason for prior-gen owners to upgrade until recently.
Many PS5 and PS4 titles have made their way to Steam after a couple of years of PlayStation exclusivity, raising more questions about exclusivity.
If the rumors are true, and the PS6 won’t be out until the tail end of the decade, Sony has more time to deliver added value to PS5 owners. Developing titles for current-generation systems usually comes with significantly fewer hurdles for developers, as learning how to make games on a new system comes with a lot of learning. Hopefully, this means that more titles exclusive to the PS5 can come out faster in the next couple of years. It happened for the PS4, as God of War and Ghost of Tsushima came out closer to the end of its life, and both are some of the highest-rated PlayStation games ever.
New consoles can be a pretty exciting prospect, and it’s always fascinating to see what new leaps can be made in technology, but the PS5 still feels unfinished. It feels like only in the past year has the console really started to hit its stride, alarmingly late for something of its age, so a few extra years to cement its place in gaming’s history might not be such a bad thing. Who knows what unforgettable PS5 exclusives might arrive in the last few years of its life, and hopefully, in light of this rumor, there might be a few more to play before moving on.