Featured Image Credit: Sony
Topics: PlayStation, PlayStation 5, Sony, Tech
I feel like I only got my hands on my PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S just yesterday but in fact, they’ve been in my company for well over four years.
The end of 2025 will mark both consoles' fifth anniversaries and as we know, it’s unlikely for a console generation to extend much beyond six or seven years.
With that in mind, while it may feel too early to discuss next-gen consoles, it’s actually very much not.
Both Sony and Microsoft are likely to drop consoles as soon as 2027, with insiders claiming that Xbox may be attempting to step out from Sony’s hardware shadow, launching a console next year instead.
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Of course, all of this has to be taken with a pinch of salt until anything is officially confirmed by either company.
While this console generation hasn’t exactly been shorter than those before it, its length has been met with more criticism.
I think that’s likely down to the fact that games have much longer development cycles now.
With major studios putting out fewer titles, console owners feel like they’ve received less bang for their buck in recent years.
Take a look at a studio like Naughty Dog.
During the PlayStation 4 era, players received Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End in 2014 followed by Uncharted: The Lost Legacy in 2017 and The Last of Us Part II in 2020.
That’s three major new releases.
The PlayStation 5 era has received precisely zero so far, with the company instead having released various remasters and remakes ahead of the upcoming Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet.
You can take a look at the trailer for that game below.
When I put it like that, you can perhaps understand why fans are hesitant to move on; Naughty Dog is far from being the only studio with this kind of release history.
“If the PlayStation 6 launches in 2027 alongside the next Xbox, I will feel an unimaginable amount of disappointment,” wrote Twitter user NSuperGamerGuy.
“We would only have two years left in a generation that has already felt like a complete waste of time and resources,” they continued.
“I agree,” added TheGameLooters. “I would like to see a 10 year run this gen as it still feels unrealised. It’s weird. Don’t get me wrong, [I] love my PS5 but games-wise, it’s sorely lacking compared to the last gen.”
It’s true. Take a look at last year. Yes it brought us the fantastic Astro Bot and Helldivers II, but the year was low on tentpole first-party exclusives overall.
It’ll certainly be interesting to see what the future holds. Personally, the first thing I’d love to see is a release date for Ghost of Yōtei.