Sony doesn’t expect the PlayStation 6 to arrive before 2027

Sony doesn’t expect a PlayStation 6 to launch before 2027, confidential documents suggest.

The partially blackened document was made public as part of Microsoft’s review of its proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard in the UK.

When is the PS5 successor coming?

This interesting statement is hidden in a passage about the length of time in which Call of Duty could still be available for the PlayStation.

Sony claims they expect (as of today) to lose access to the franchise in 2027. It also said it expects “that by the time the next generation of its PlayStation console was launched, access to Call of Duty and other Activision titles would have been lost.”

Xbox boss Spencer has repeatedly emphasized in the past that Call of Duty should remain on the PlayStation, while Sony continues to argue strongly against the takeover in various markets.

In any case, the passage indicates that a PlayStation 6 can be expected in 2027 at the earliest. The PS5, which was released in November 2020, would therefore have a life cycle of at least seven years.

Sony arguably worries that losing Call of Duty in 2027 could leave the company “extremely vulnerable to consumer switching and the consequent deterioration in its competitiveness.”

“PlayStation 6 in 2028?” asks analyst Piers Harding-Rolls on Twitter. He refers to the entry in the document in which a specific year was named but blacked out for the public version.

In any case, it wouldn’t be surprising. The PS4 also had a seven-year lifecycle prior to the launch of the PS5 and is still supported.