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- The PS6 is rumoured to launch in three distinct models, including a high-end Pro and a Nintendo Switch-style handheld hybrid.
- A target of 4K resolution at 60/120fps will serve as the baseline, utilising advanced AI upscaling to bridge the next generational leap.
- Global memory shortages and rising component costs have reportedly pushed the console’s expected release window back
If you think it feels a bit early to be talking about the PlayStation 6, you’re not alone. While rumours of Sony’s follow-up to the surprisingly successful PS5 have been circulating for months, the general sentiment in the gaming audience seems to be: “already?”
The PlayStation 5 generation has been a weird one, and in many ways feels like it’s only just getting started. Sony’s PlayStation 5 launched back in 2020, and the more powerful (and expensive) PlayStation 5 Pro dropped in 2025. But with the Nintendo Switch 2 out, and Microsoft’s next-gen Xbox also in the works, we’re already staring down the barrel of a new console generation.
For what it’s worth, the PlayStation 6 hasn’t been announced yet, and likely won’t be out before 2028 if the rumours are true, but there have been leaks over the past few months that can point us in a pretty good direction as to what the console will be capable of, and whether or not you can take it on the bus.
Here’s what we know about the PlayStation 6 so far.
What Will The ‘PlayStation 6’ Be?
Well, it might actually be three different things. Rumours have been circulating for the past six months or so that Sony is working on three separate models to launch under the PlayStation 6 banner.
First, there’ll be the regular home console that we’re used to. The ‘base’ PlayStation 6 will be a step up from even the PlayStation 5 Pro and set the stage for the next decade or so of PlayStation’s business. While it’s hard to gauge potential performance from rumoured tech specs, it seems clear that the console will target 4K resolution with 60/120 fps as a baseline, utilising upscaling technology.
Beyond that, Sony is also tinkering with the idea of launching another ‘Pro’ model, presumably called the PlayStation 6 Pro, which will target more advanced graphical and performance options for the hardcore players. This is kind of similar to the way Microsoft approached this generation of Xbox, with the Xbox Series X being a more capable device, but the Xbox Series S being available for a lower price.
Will Sony launch its own version of the Switch?
But, then there’s a third thing: a hybrid home console akin to the Nintendo Switch. PlayStation has a history of making portable consoles (the PSP launched in 2004, the Vita in 2011, and the Portal in 2023), but this rumoured push into a more powerful console-class hybrid seems to be Sony’s attempt at taking a bite out of Nintendo’s lunch.
This makes a degree of sense: we’re seeing a broader push into portable gaming across the industry from the likes of Valve, Xbox, ASUS, Lenovo, and others, and Sony certainly wants to compete in that space, but the market leader in the portable space is far-and-away Nintendo. The Switch is one of the best selling consoles of all time, largely due to its size, portability, availability, and affordability, and while the Switch 2 is still early in its lifecycle it launched as the fastest selling console of all time. That momentum hasn’t quite kept up, mind you, but there’s clearly a desire for a more powerful handheld console out there from both hardware designers and players.
Plus, there’s also the fact that while there’s a noticeable bump in performance going from a PS4 to a PS5, the gains haven’t quite been as noticeable as prior generational leaps. Changing that leap from ‘your game will look a bit better’ to ‘now you can play anywhere’ is a whole new marketing strategy that, if we’re being honest, will probably get some people interested when they may have otherwise waited for a sale.
While it isn’t quite clear whether all three of these options will launch at once or if it’ll be part of a staggered roll-out, the idea of three versions of a single console is pretty confusing for your average punter. As someone who worked in electronics retail for a while, I can imagine the floor staff at JB Hi-Fi needing to explain the difference between three separate PS6 models getting old fast.
What Games Will Be On the PS6?
Presumably all three of these models will run the same games, though, with the ‘PS6’ rumoured to remain backward compatible with PS4 and PS5 games. Then again, people usually buy a new console for new games, so what can we expect to see on the PS6?
Sony has some of the best gaming developers in the business, such as Naughty Dog (Uncharted and The Last of Us), Santa Monica Studios (God of War), Sucker Punch (Ghost of Tsushima and Ghost of Yotei), Insomniac (Ratchet & Clank and Spider-Man), Housemarque (Returnal and Saros), Guerrilla Games (Horizon: Zero Dawn and Forbidden West), Polyphony Digital (Gran Turismo) and Bungie (Destiny 2 and Marathon).
While we have a pretty good idea of what a few of those studios are working on, we also know that a lot of games have been cancelled internally at PlayStation recently, leaving quite a bit up in the air as to what’s actually being worked on that could be ready for a PS6 launch.
What we know Sony is working on for the PS6
- Naughty Dog is working on a new science-fiction game called Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, which will likely launch on the PlayStation 5 mid-2027.
- Santa Monica Studios is working on a full-scale remake of the original God of War trilogy, made up of God of War (2005), God of War II (2007), and God of War III (2010), for the PlayStation 5. We don’t yet have any idea when it’ll launch, but it’s going to be a while.
- Sucker Punch is finishing up work on Ghost of Yotei Legends, a multiplayer spin-off of Ghost of Yotei, which will launch on 11 March, 2026. We don’t yet know what they’re working on beyond that.
- Gurrellia Games is similarly working on Horizon Hunters Gathering, a multiplayer spin-off of its Horizon series, for release on PS5. The team is also working on a single-player sequel to Forbidden West, which could still be years away.
- Insomniac is launching Wolverine later this year on PS5, and is, according to leaks, working on a Venom and X-Men game beyond that. Neither of those have been officially confirmed.
- Housemarque is finishing up Saros for launch in April 2026, and will likely support that for a few years before moving onto a new title for PlayStation 6.
- Polyphony Digital is likely working on Gran Turismo 8, which could very well launch as a technical showcase of the PlayStation 6’s power.
- Bungie’s Marathon is launching in March, and the studio has also said it’ll continue to support Destiny 2 moving forward with more content.
When Is The PS6 Coming Out?
This is where things start getting extra complicated. When rumours of the PlayStation 6 first started circulating in 2025 they suggested that Sony was looking to kick off production of the new console in late 2026 for a 2027 launch.
However, with the ongoing memory shortages you’ve no doubt heard about—which are affecting every consumer tech company in the world at the moment, as AI data-centres gobble up every bit of available RAM on the market—it’s looking more likely that Sony will give the PS5 a bit more time to breathe before it launches a more powerful successor.
Newer leaks have hinted that Sony will likely launch the console as late as 2028 or 2029, depending on how bad the memory shortage is. That delay, as well as the rising cost of components, is likely to affect whatever price Sony decides to launch the console at—but we’ll have to wait a while to find out about that.
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