A few months back, Microsoft’s Phil Spencer revealed that his team was hard at work on designing the next generation of Xbox consoles. It shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise that Sony is doing the same thing with PlayStation, but we now have confirmation from its CEO.
Speaking to the Financial Times (via IGN), Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida confirmed that Sony was working on “next-generation hardware,” though he didn’t clarify if it would be called the PlayStation 5 or would take some other form.
The Financial Times also reported that the console wouldn’t be drastically different in its architecture than the PlayStation 4. Aside from the big performance increase, the system will likely function relatively similar to Sony’s past machines. Given the success of the PlayStation 4 this generation, that shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise.
Sony didn’t give any specifics regarding when the next PlayStation will arrive but Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO John Kodera previously hinted that it could arrive around 2021, while industry analyst Michael Pachter said he thought it would arrive a year earlier. The PlayStation 4 isn’t slowing down, though, with huge games like God of War and Spider-Man receiving glowing reviews this year. Other upcoming games confirmed for PlayStation 4 include The Last of Us: Part II, Death Stranding, and Ghost of Tsushima, though it’s possible that these could eventually release on newer hardware, as well. We’d also be shocked if Cyberpunk 2077 didn’t release on the next PlayStation, as it’s one of the most visually impressive games we’ve ever seen.
Microsoft could be offering some hefty competition, if rumors we’ve heard about the next Xbox system are true. Microsoft could be offering two separate consoles, with one being a traditional system while the other is a streaming-only device sold at a lower price. On Monday, October 8, Microsoft announced Project xCloud, a streaming service that allows players on numerous devices to play games without buying expensive extra hardware. It also supports touch controls on phones and tablets, even for games originally designed for traditional controllers like Sea of Thieves. Google’s Project stream just launched in a test form this week, as well, and lets users play Assassin’s Creed Odyssey right in their Chrome browser.
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