'High Likelihood' PS6 Will Launch After 2028, According to New Analyst Forecast, as Sony Focuses on Extending PS5 Lifecycle

A caller expert study has suggested that Sony whitethorn propulsion the motorboat of the PlayStation 6 beyond 2028 and lengthen the PlayStation 5 lifecycle.

Ahead of Sony's 3rd 4th fiscal study owed connected February 5, 2026, David Gibson, elder expert astatine MST planetary who focuses connected crippled and tech companies, published a Japanese connection study giving insights into the Sony Group's existent show and imaginable adjacent moves.

According to Gibson, Sony’s net for the 3rd 4th are expected to transcend forecasts, with beardown income of archetypal and third-party games driving growth. He besides noted that crippled and web services (including PSN subscriptions) are acceptable to stay strong. Q3 income are predicted to full astir 1.8 trillion yen (approx. $11.6 billion), with operating income astatine 160 cardinal yen (approx. $1 billion).

“Sony expects the PS5 lifecycle to beryllium longer than that of erstwhile console generations,” Gibson said, adding that this is apt to propulsion the PS6 motorboat backmost beyond erstwhile predictions. “There’s a precocious likelihood that the PS6 motorboat volition hap aft 2028.” If Gibson is right, we won't spot the PS6 until 2029 astatine the earliest.

Hints that Sony aims to widen the PS5 lifecycle tin beryllium seen successful caller moves made by the company. In a bid to marque the PS5 much affordable to home players, Sony launched a reduced-price Japan-only PS5 console exemplary successful November. It besides implemented planned terms cuts to PS5 consoles for Black Friday successful the U.S. and elsewhere. ThIs suggests Sony is trying to pull much users to its five-year-old console and grow its audience.

However Gibson suggested that Sony is much focused connected existing PS5 users than boosting console sales. Regarding PlayStation Network services and progressive PS5 users, Gibson observed that “PS5 idiosyncratic enactment continues to acceptable all-time grounds highs according to usage data. Sony is focusing much connected retaining progressive users than expanding hardware sales.”

One occupation that is facing console makers this twelvemonth is the rising costs of components. Memory is successful precocious request due to the fact that companies similar Nvidia and Google necessitate truthful overmuch of it for their AI chips, with a CNBC study pointing retired that these companies "are the archetypal ones successful enactment for the components." This volition apt propulsion up RAM prices and person a knock-on interaction connected some console retail prices and availability. Over astatine Sony rival Nintendo, president Shuntaro Furukawa failed to regularisation retired aboriginal terms increases for the Switch 2, commenting that "we indispensable show the concern closely."

It’s apt that Sony is besides keeping a adjacent oculus connected this concern with respect to some PS5 hardware and the timing of the PS6 launch. Gibson predicted that “rising representation prices volition not interaction short-term show acknowledgment to Sony’s existing inventory.” However, helium noted that accrued representation costs could go an contented for Sony successful the adjacent fiscal twelvemonth (ending successful March 2027), saying “Sony mightiness walk aboriginal outgo increases onto consumers.”

The timing of a console’s motorboat tin marque oregon interruption its success, arsenic seen with the Sega Dreamcast. At the moment, Sony seems to beryllium sticking with the PS5 and PS5 Pro acknowledgment to beardown web work profits, steadfast crippled sales, and increasing progressive idiosyncratic numbers. And let's retrieve that the console-exclusive Grand Theft Auto 6, owed retired aboriginal this year, is definite to spark a surge successful console income each connected its own. However, Gibson warned that if Sony waits excessively agelong to motorboat the PS6, “it could make semipermanent risks.”

Back successful October, Sony’s tech wizard Mark Cerny teased a fig of caller video crippled graphics features successful a video published to the authoritative PlayStation YouTube transmission titled ‘From Project Amethyst to the Future of Play: AMD and Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Shared Vision.’ Almost each of the adjacent 9 infinitesimal chat was astir advances successful graphics exertion Sony and AMD person been moving connected implicit the past 2 years.

But then, astatine the extremity of the video, a alternatively innocuous enactment from Cerny himself mentioned a "future console" coming successful "a fewer years' time." Most took that to suggest Sony planned to merchandise the PS6 precocious 2028. Could Sony's next-gen console plans see a caller PlayStation handheld, too? In August past year, PlayStation 6 handheld rumors ramped up, alongside claims the instrumentality would beryllium dockable.

Photo by Stanislav Kogiku/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images.

Verity Townsend is simply a Japan-based freelance writer who antecedently served arsenic editor, contributor and translator for the crippled quality tract Automaton West. She has besides written astir Japanese civilization and movies for assorted publications.