The PlayStation6 may not be as close as originally thought anymore

When it comes to the current gaming console generation, things have not exactly played out the way they usually do – definitely not in the case of the PlayStation5. Sony’s latest home entertainment system launched during the first year of a global pandemic, it faced stock shortages for more than two years, it never officially went down in price – the occasional sale or bundle offer doesn’t count – and, in fact, it even got pricier in certain regions in 2025 (a first for any PlayStation ever). It’s not be that surprising, then, to hear that Sony may not be planning to release that system’s successor, the PlayStation6, as soon as previously thought after all.

To date, multiple sources – from leakers like Moore’s Law Is Dead, KeplerL2 and Tom Henderson to Reuters and even Microsoft – have claimed at some point or the other, in broad strokes or in detail, that Sony’s plan is to bring the PS6 to market in late 2027. That would be in line with Sony’s tradition of releasing a new PlayStation home system every seven years – PS5 in 2020, PS4 in 2013, PS3 in 2006 – as well as in line with AMD’s processor and graphics subsystem roadmaps. So the general consensus for the past six months or so has been that Sony is working toward a Q4 2027 launch window for the next PlayStation.

In a new report published by Sandstone Insights, though, senior research analyst David Gibson shared a number of comments regarding Sony’s third fiscal quarter – which ended on December 31st – as well as one specific prediction regarding the company’s PlayStation business going forward: “Sony expects the PS5’s lifecycle to be extended and the PS6’s release is likely to be delayed longer than many expected”.

Hardware component costs make predictions difficult

It’s not clear in the report’s overview whether this prediction is based on inside information from somewhere within Sony or on just Gibson’s own personal opinion on the matter. It’s still interesting, though, as it’s the first time a noted analyst openly talks about a scenario where the Japanese company does not release a new PlayStation model seven years after its predecessor, but chooses to remain in the current generation for longer (probably adjusting how it runs its PlayStation business for that period of time).

To people looking at what’s currently happening in the PC market, though, this scenario will not come as a huge surprise: any future PlayStation will need fast memory chips and SSD storage, both of which are outrageously overpriced right now due to the extremely high, AI server-driven demand for these components. It’s literally next to impossible for anyone to predict how things will look like on that front in mid-2027, let alone plan ahead and implement a pricing strategy for a mass-market product like a new PlayStation.

Since there’s reason to believe that Sony will strive to offer both PlayStation6 versions at as attractive a price point as possible, the company may indeed extend the lifecycle of the PS5 in order to buy itself some time and maybe avoid getting hit by high component costs. The additional revenue earned from an ever-expanding PS5 user base for an extra year or two would obviously not hurt either.

Sony can easily take its time with the PlayStation6

To be clear, Sony has not even hinted at a specific time frame for the release of the PlayStation6. The company’s executives have barely acknowledged its existence in an official manner, referring to it only as “the next PlayStation” in investor briefings or as a future product based on Sony’s Project Amethyst collaboration with AMD. So, in truth, the PS6 won’t be “on time” or “delayed” based on how the company’s plans looked like a year ago or how they look like today: Sony has simply not shared anything about them yet and, if previous generations are any indication, it will not do so until it’s about a year away from releasing a new PlayStation.

If Sony did not follow its 7-year pattern this time around, though – as implied by this report – it’s highly likely that most PlayStation fans would not actually object. See, this console generation has not been a typical one for them either. They went through a three-year cross-generation period during which almost all AAA Sony games were released for the PS4 too. They witnessed Sony releasing more PS5 remasters or remakes than PS5-exclusive original productions. The first Sony true PS5-exclusive system seller, Spider-man 2, did not appear until late 2023. Not exactly the game-changing (huh) PlayStation generation we were promised back in 2020, so to speak.

It often feels as if the actual PS5 generation has barely started – there’s clearly untapped potential in Sony’s system yet – so it’s no surprise that is exactly where so many PlayStation fans stand in online conversations when it comes to the PS6. They seem to be of the opinion that, should it be released in late 2027, it would be a year or even two years too early, regardless of pricing. With 2026 being a particularly strong year for the PS5, Sony could easily give it at least one more year in the limelight before it starts promoting its successor and its handheld version. It’s not like we’re not looking at a long cross-gen period between the PS5 and the PS6 anyway… right?