PlayStation 5 Release Date: Developers Weigh In

Rumors have been circulating about the PlayStation 5 -- its specs and its release date -- since a recent SemiAccurate article claimed that it could possibly launch in 2018. The article, which was locked behind a $1,000 subscriber pay-wall (no we're not kidding), began with a list of accolades and past predictions from SemiAccurate which have come to pass, and makes claims to some exclusive new information about the kind of technology that will be offered in Sony's next generation console.

2018 wasn't a given as a solid release date, rather it was speculated that it could release this year. The author of the article stated that if they had to put money on a launch window, it would be holiday 2018. A new Kotaku article from Jason Schreier states what we all assumed to be true: That sounds way too early. Schreier isn't the only one corroborating our common sense, either. Apparently, he's spoken to quite a few developers who think that 2020 sounds much more likely.

Most of the developers to whom Schreier spoke said that they hadn't heard anything at all about the next PlayStation or the next Xbox. This would seem to contradict SemiAccurate's claim that there are a lot of PS5 dev kits already in circulation. If that were the case, we'd expect more buzz from the devs themselves.

A couple of his sources who were more familiar with Sony's plans weren't shy about saying that a 2018 release is far-fetched, and that even a 2019 launch seemed unlikely. It was stressed, however, that plans change all of the time, and unexpected announcements from competitors can inspire a change in plans. The console launch could move forward, or it could even get pushed back; it's far too early to tell for now.

What that means for me and you is that we have some time to relax and enjoy the home stretch of this console generation. The PS4 and Xbox One will still be viable for the foreseeable future, and even when new consoles are revealed, we have a pretty good feeling that they will be compatible with the games we're currently playing.

For what it's worth SemiAccurate is claiming that the PS5 will feature a GPU based on AMD's forthcoming "Navi" architecture, though it will be a custom chip with exclusive features. It was also reported that it will use the "Zen" CPU from AMD which, honestly, is the only logical assumption going forward. A safe bet, and one that will likely materialize whenever the PS5 does launch.

Stay tuned for all of the latest PS5 updates!