Analyst: Sony's First-Party Studios Already Have PlayStation 5 Development Kits

01/28/2019 08:10 pm EST

Although the company has yet to make things official (probably later this year, fingers crossed), Sony looks to be prepping for the eventual arrival of the PlayStation 5. We've already seen job listings and a poll pointing at the possibility of the hardware- and now an analyst suggests that the company's huge line-up of studios is hard at work on it.

While speaking to users on Resetera, analyst Daniel Ahmed noted that a number of studios already have their hands on development kits, though he didn't name specific ones. "PS5 dev kits are out there and I've heard positive things about it," he said. "But I wouldn't expect any information in the immediate future."

As for what the future holds for Sony (even without the company appearing at E3 2019, choosing to sit out instead), Ahmed summed up things nicely in another Resetera post. "2019 will be another solid year for the platform due to the large install base, growing network sales, strong third party software, first party software and back catalog. Lineup for the first half of the year is set but second half is still in flux. Sony also has a couple of unannounced games (already existing IP) with PS4 in mind but I'm conscious that there have been discussions around making them cross gen/next gen titles. In general, most of the focus for Sony 1P is on PS5 right now. It is still early to talk about next gen but I imagine we'll hear some whispers come out of GDC," he explained.

More than likely, the big event where Sony could showcase the PlayStation 5 may be later this year with the return of the PlayStation Experience, which didn't take place in 2018. Some believed that Sony would bring the event back earlier, in a similar fashion to EA's Play event that's held alongside E3, but it already killed that rumor, stating it wouldn't be hosting a competitive event. So later this year seems more than likely.

As far as what Sony's working on for the new hardware, it's anyone's guess. A port of The Last of Us Part II? Death Stranding? Knack III? The sky is virtually the limit, so we'll have to wait and see.

The PlayStation 5 currently doesn't have a release date, but 2020 is estimated.

What franchises do you want to see on PlayStation 5? Let me know on Twitter at @TheDCD!

(Hat tip to GearNuke for the scoop!)

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