PlayStation 4 may stick around years longer - for one simple reason

The PlayStation 4 has had a long life, giving players 12 years of brilliant games and entertainment, but that generation is winding to a close.

Earlier today, I wrote about how Sony is no longer shipping PlayStation 4 consoles in Japan, sparking the end of an era, however, many gamers think the system will keep going due to one thing.

Fortnite can singlehandedly keep consoles alive for many years

That reason, is Fortnite. Well, free-to-play games, generally, but you can put Fortnite as a headliner here.

In previous generations, consoles would die off when games weren’t being made any longer, but with a huge install base, free-to-play games are less likely to abandon their players.

Many Fortnite players might only own a PS4 simply to play the battle royale with their friends, and have no need to upgrade their console.

As long as companies like Epic Games are happy to keep PS4 in their sights, the hardware can continue for many years to come.

This is the mindset over on Reddit, which came from the question, “When do you think the PS4 end of life will happen? I.e. last game published?”

“The sign the PS4 is dying is the day Fortnite stops supporting PS4,” says Zeroone199 in reply.

“I could see some games still being updated on the PS4 like Fortnite and Warzone,” echoes another PlayStation fan.

Ultimately, the end of life for the console will come when Sony shuts down the servers for online games, which won’t be for a long time, as long as they’re profitable.

“Fortnite is supported on the Nintendo Switch even now, which is a 10 times slower device. So don't be afraid, for the next 10 years Fortnite updates are guaranteed on PS4,” remarks gszilagyi.

The system itself may see an end of support from Sony over the next year or so, but developers can still make games for older consoles, so don’t pack away your PS4 just yet.