3 Reasons PS6 Needs to Be Released After 2027

With the PS5 nearing the sixth anniversary of its release, it’s logical for us to begin hearing rumors and reports about PlayStation’s next console. Currently, those reports have pointed to the PlayStation 6, as the next console is presumed to be called, launching at some point in 2027. Official details are still nonexistent, but the PS6 is also claimed to have a handheld component that should work in tandem to some degree with the home console.

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While all of this is quite exciting to think about, I’m of the mind that the PlayStation 6 launching next year would be a major mistake. Historically, I’d love to get new PlayStation hardware sooner rather than later, but with the PS6, I’m more than content with Sony keeping the console in the oven a bit longer.

Here are the three biggest reasons in my mind why the PS6 should launch at some point after 2027.

1. The Economy Is a Disaster

This is likely the most obvious reason for the PS6 to be delayed a bit, but the global economy is in no shape for Sony to release a new console in a little over a year. Scarcity of components and tariffs have already resulted in multiple price hikes for the PS5 and PS5 Pro, leading to Sony’s current-gen hardware costing substantially more now than it did upon its launch in 2020. This is an unprecedented situation, to say the least, and makes it look as though the PS6 would release at a price of close to $1000.

Although many would surely still rush to buy a PS6 at this price point, I have a hard time seeing the console fly off of store shelves if it did cost this much. As such, this could greatly impact Sony’s potential to grow the PS6 install base, which would then limit its ability to generate software sales in the years to follow.

The obvious caveat with this is that there’s no guarantee that the economy will be any better beyond 2027. Many of the conditions that have resulted in the current market being the way that it is don’t seem like they’re suddenly going to go away. Because of this, many PlayStation fans should just expect gaming to become a more premium hobby with the arrival of the PS6.

2. PS5 Feels Like It’s Still Just Scratching the Surface of Its Potential

Despite being almost six years old, it also still feels like Sony has barely tapped into the potential of the PS5. Many of the most prominent games of the PS5 generation so far have also appeared on PS4, which has limited what these games are capable of. While we’ve started to get more PS5 exclusives over the past year or two, there still haven’t been anywhere near as many console exclusives this generation as we saw with the PS4.

Not to mention, Sony’s upgraded PS5 Pro console has really only started to hit its stride this year. In the wake of PSSR 2 going live back at the end of February, games like Resident Evil Requiem, Crimson Desert, and the upcoming Saros have finally started to show the potential of the hardware. These newfound heights of performance and fidelity that are being seen on PS5 Pro should be something that Sony looks to build off of in the years to come, not simply abandon in favor of new hardware next year.

3. PlayStation’s Own Studios Are a Bit of a Mess

Perhaps the biggest reason why Sony should be willing to wait a bit longer to release the PS6 is because its studios have been dealing with a handful of problems over the past few years. While this isn’t true of every developer, Sony has internally canceled a handful of projects that were both announced and unannounced, and has also shut down teams like Bluepoint Games, Dark Outlaw Games, and Firewalk Studios. Meanwhile, developers that include Bend Studio, Media Molecule, Haven Studios, and Naughty Dog have yet to even ship a brand-new game on PS5.

Because of this, it’s hard to know what notable PlayStation exclusives would even be lined up to launch alongside the PS6 in 2027. Naughty Dog’s Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet could end up being a cross-gen game for both PS5 and PS6, as could Santa Monica Studio’s much-rumored new God of War prequel. Outside of this, Polyphony Digital is surely working on a new Gran Turismo entry, and Insomniac has some long-term plans to keep creating Marvel games beyond Wolverine. These projects, however, seem pretty far out and surely wouldn’t be ready to drop in tandem with the PS6.

PlayStation undoubtedly has some surprises up its sleeve and could find a way to release a major exclusive or two alongside the PS6. On paper, though, most studios that are part of PlayStation’s first-party group feel like they’re in an in-between stage at the moment, which could make the first year or two of the PS6 feel very weak if it were to become available next year.

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