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Let me get something out of the way first: I'm a hardware geek. New consoles, new GPUs, new tech, I absolutely love all of it. The idea of a shiny new PlayStation sitting under my telly is genuinely exciting to me. So when Bloomberg reported that Sony is pushing the PS6 back to 2028 or potentially even 2029, you might expect me to be gutted.
I'm not. If anything, I think it's exactly the right call.
Here's the thing: 2027 would simply be too soon for a new console. We're only now starting to see games that genuinely show what the PS5 is made of, and when they do, they're absolutely stunning. So why on earth would we rush toward new hardware when we haven't come close to getting the most out of what we already have?
Developers Haven't Hit a Wall Yet
Cast your mind back to the tail end of the PS4 generation. Developers were wringing that console dry - fans spinning like mad, frame rates barely clinging on at 30fps, every visual trick in the book thrown at it just to keep things ticking over. That's what a console looks like when it's truly maxed out. We are nowhere near that point with the PS5.
Have a look at something like Sony's upcoming Saros, a game still launching with a 60fps performance mode. That tells you everything, doesn't it? When developers are still comfortably hitting acceptable frame rates on current hardware, they haven't found the ceiling yet. The PS5 has more to give, and the best argument for staying put is simply that we haven't seen its best yet.
And then there's the elephant in the room: you've still got games releasing on PS4. The recent Yakuza Kiwami 3 and Dark Ties, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, and Little Nightmares 3 are all available on a console that launched back in 2013. New releases on PS4 are obviously becoming rarer, but the fact that developers haven't completely done away with a twelve-year-old platform tells you a fair bit about where we actually are in this generation's lifecycle.
The Pandemic Nicked Years From This Generation
The PS5 launched in November 2020, slap bang in the middle of a global pandemic. Supply was an absolute shambles. Scalpers hoovered up stock faster than Sony could ship it. Millions of people who wanted a PS5 couldn't get their hands on one for the best part of two years. A mate of mine pulled the trigger and paid nearly £1000 for his.
And throughout all that chaos, developers were stuck in cross-gen limbo, still building for PS4 because they couldn't very well ignore that enormous installed base.
The upshot was a cross-gen period that dragged on far longer than usual, which means we've only really started getting proper PS5-native games relatively recently. In a very real sense, this generation is younger than its launch date suggests. Rushing to replace it now would feel like pulling the plug before the party's even got going.
The PS5 Pro Already Handles the "I Want Better" Crowd
For players who genuinely want a step up right now, Sony already has an answer: the PS5 Pro. Stronger hardware, better performance, available today. That upgrade path exists. The people who absolutely must have the best possible experience on current-gen don't have to sit on their hands.
It's worth remembering that Xbox boss Phil Spencer himself said he doesn't really see the point in mid-gen refreshes, and even he's got a point there. But the PS5 Pro serves a purpose for a certain type of player, and its existence takes some of the pressure off Sony to go rushing a full new generation out the door before it's ready.
What About the Other Side of the Argument?
To be fair, there is a case to be made on the other side. By 2028 or 2029, it's entirely plausible that developers will have found the ceiling. They might be struggling to hit their visual targets, making compromises they'd rather not, watching their ambitions outpace what the hardware can actually manage.
But here's the thing: that's always how it goes, innit? Every generation ends with a bit of a slog - frame rate wobbles, performance issues, games that clearly want to be next-gen but are being held back by old silicon. It's par for the course, and it's never been a disaster. Developers manage. Games still come out. And by the time that strain becomes genuinely painful, Sony would presumably be right there with a new console ready to go. That's just the natural rhythm of this industry, and it works.
We're Fine. Let It Breathe.
Games are taking longer to make. Budgets are eye-watering. Prices are high, and players are already feeling the pinch. Pushing the industry into a new hardware cycle before the current one has been properly explored - financially, creatively, technically - would be a bit daft, frankly.
The PS6 will come eventually, and when it does, I'll be first in the queue, credit card in hand, ready to spend a frankly obscene amount of money on it. But right now? Right now, the PS5 still has things to show us.
Let it get on with it.
