Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

PlayStation 6 rumors: everything we know about the PS6 so far

A PS5 DualSense controller.
Photo by Benedict Calano on Unsplash

It sounds like we’re going to learn more about a next-generation PlayStation sooner rather than later.

In early 2024, Sony Senior Vice President Naomi Matsuoka told Bloomberg that, “Looking ahead, PS5 will enter the latter stage of its life cycle.” While he didn’t outright say that a PlayStation 6 is in the works, we can assume that the company is already looking ahead at its next console.

Despite there only being rumors to work with, it’s never to early to start speculating about the next-gen consoles. How will the PS6 compare to the PS5? Will any of the best games on PS5 make their way to the PS6? And what about upcoming PS5 games that are going to launch soon?

Nothing is set in stone, but let’s take a look at what the future of PlayStation may look like.

PS6 release date speculation

A PS5 with controllers.
Photo by Triyansh Gill on Unsplash

The biggest clue as to when a PS6 could come out, or at least may have been planned to at one point, points to 2027. This information comes from an official Microsoft court document as part of the Activision Blizzard acquisition: “By the time SIE launched the next generation of its PlayStation console (which is likely to occur around [redacted]), it would have lost access to Call of Duty.” The date is redacted here, but sleuths have connected the dots between this and the deal Microsoft offered Sony to keep Activision Blizzard games on PlayStation consoles until 2027. That would suggest that, at the earliest, Microsoft didn’t believe a new PlayStation would come before 2027.

If we look at past generations, that time frame falls in line with the life spans of past generations. The PlayStation 4 had seven years before the PS5 came out, and the PlayStation 3 was also around for seven years before its successor showed up. The PS5 launched in 2020, meaning 2027 would once again leave us with a seven-year console cycle. We wouldn’t put money on 2027 for sure, but anything from late 2027 onward feels like a safe bet.

PS6 price

Abby stands in the rain in The Last of Us Part 2.
Naughty Dog

The price of a PS6 is impossible to even estimate with any degree of certainty. Until we know any firm details about what the specs inside of it are, we can’t even start to run rough numbers to figure out what it costs. However, based on past pricing and rumored specs, it would be hard to imagine it costing less than $500 at launch, if not closer to the dreaded $600 mark.

PS6 specs

Aerith stares at floating lanterns in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.
Square Enix

Exact specifications for the PS6 are a bit scarce. Moore’s Law is Dead has stated that it knows “with 100% certainty that Sony will continue its partnership with AMD to power the PS6 and PS5 Pro.” This would make sense as this is the same chipset used in the PS5, so sticking with it would make things like backward compatibility and cross-generational games much easier. The next generation of AMD chips is planned to be released in 2025, so that could be what the PS6 is built with.

We suspect a new SSD will be included as that was a major push in the PS5 to nearly cut out loading times, but no word has been leaked on that.

By the time a PS6 comes out, we would also expect at least 1TB of storage, especially if the console ends up being digital-only.

PS6 features

Insider Gaming claims to have a document regarding one very unique feature that is being worked on for the PS6 called PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR). This technology reportedly will allow games to run at either 4K at 120 frames per second (fps) or 8K at 60 fps, according to Insider Gaming. A weaker version of PSSR is supposedly being implemented into the PS5 Pro, but will be fully utilized in the PS6.

Jesse Lennox
Jesse Lennox loves writing, games, and complaining about not having time to write and play games. He knows the names of more…
PlayStation sales are down, but more players are using PS Plus
A Pulse Elite, DualSense, and PlayStation Portal sit on a table.

Is console hardware struggling? In its latest financial report released Tuesday, Sony revealed that hardware sales are declining, although that doesn't spell doom for the video game conglomerate.

Hardware sales are down year over year, from 3.3 million to 2.4 million, which finance chief Sadahiko Hayakawa attributes in part to an increase in first-party software sales and the impact of foreign exchange rates. However, those same game releases, along with increased PlayStation Plus subscriptions, meant income was up 12% for games overall. Sony also revealed that PlayStation had clocked 116 million monthly active users during June, which is the highest recorded for this time of year (even though it's down from the 118 million from last quarter).

Read more
Best PS5 deals: Console bundles, top games, and accessories
A person plays Crash Bandicoot using a PS5 DualSense controller.

The PlayStation 5 has sure come a long way from the beginning of its cycle when it had stock issues and there weren't really any expandable internal storage choices. Luckily, we're now roughly mid-cycle, and we have things like the PS5 Slim and a ton of games, with many of them on our best games roundup. If you're thinking of picking up a PS5, now is a good time. while there aren't a ton of good deals on the console, mostly just cheaper pricing with an included game, there are a lot of great discounts on games and accessories. We've collected some of our PlayStation deals below, as well as some of the best PS5 game deals and gaming headset deals we could find.
Best PS5 deals

The PlayStation 5 has recently seen a great revision with it now slightly slimmer than before and also offering more storage space with 1TB of internal space resulting in 842GB of it being usable. You still get the impressive DualSense controller along with all the benefits that the PS5 offers. With the arrival of the new revision, there are some great bundles around, including a free digital copy of Marvel's Spider-Man 2.

Read more
Best PlayStation Plus Deals: Save on Essential, Plus and Premium
Best PS Plus deals

When the PlayStation 5 first came out, it started off a bit rocky, especially with issues around being able to find stock and the fact that you couldn't buy any expandable internal hard drives. Luckily, a lot of that has been rectified, and along with a lot of better games available in the lineup, it's become an excellent console to have this generation. That said, much like the PlayStation 4, the PS5 does not come with internet connectivity as standard, and you'll have to grab yourself a PlayStation Plus membership to gain access to online multiplayer content. While that's not great and does put gaming PCs at an advantage on that front, there are several levels of PS Plus memberships you can grab, and a lot of them come with perks, like access to a library of games and new free games every month.

Also, while you're here, be sure to check out these excellent PS5 game deals and PlayStation deals that include some great games and accessories you can get for a great price.
What is PlayStation Plus?
Along with online multiplayer and other in-game network features, a PlayStation Plus Essential membership grants you access to exclusive discounts and other promotions. Perhaps the most notable benefit of PlayStation Plus is that every month, Sony gives subscribers one PlayStation 5 and two PlayStation 4 games that are free to download. You have one month to add these free PlayStation Plus games to your library.

Read more