The PS5 is currently riding high, but everyone always wants to know what’s coming next. It’s been reported that the PS6 is in the works, and according to former PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida, the system launching in 2028 feels “right.”
Speaking to VentureBeat, Yoshida the last console cycle was about seven years long, and if that holds again, the PS6 would debut in 2027, and he said that feels “a bit too early.” Stressing that he has no inside information about the PS6, Yoshida said, “If the next PlayStation comes out in 2028, that feels right to me.”
He added that the next Xbox might be planned for 2028 as well, based on a leak from Microsoft, but of course, this may not be true and plans can always change. In any event, Yoshida speculated that there is a chance that the next PlayStation and Xbox devices come out in the same year.
This would be in keeping with tradition, as the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S debuted in not just the same year but the same month back in November 2020.
Yoshida went on to say that the PS5 generation was “slowed” due to manufacturing issues pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic and component shortages. The PS5 just had its biggest sales quarter yet, propelling the system to more than 75 million sold. PS5 sales are up compared to PS4 sales in the US over their first 50 months, while Xbox Series X|S sales are down compared to Xbox One.
It was reported in 2024 that Intel made a blockbuster bid with Sony to have its own chips help power the PS6. However, Sony is said to have opted to go with AMD instead. AMD currently helps power both the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.
Yoshida left Sony earlier this year after 30+ years with the company. Now that he’s left Sony, he can arrange his own interviews and speak his mind, and he is certainly doing that. He also recently said he had “no choice” but to take a job inside Sony focused on indie games. He says he was told he could accept this position or leave. Yoshida also reacted to the Switch 2 reveal, saying it lacked surprises. Additionally, he offered up a theory as to why there is no Bloodborne remaster and revealed that he was surprised that Horizon: Forbidden West didn’t sell all that great.