Sony Confirms PlayStation 5 is the Next Step for the Company

With the release of the Nintendo Switch and then the announcement at Microsoft’s E3 2017 conference that Xbox One X will be coming later this year, it is not unusual for PlayStation fans to be contemplating Sony’s plans for future consoles, or if we can expect one at all. This week, however, Sony Interactive Entertainment President and CEO, Shawn Layden, confirmed in an interview with German site Golem that PlayStation 5 is a thing and will be the next step forward for the company; but, you may not want to hold your breath, since we are still a long way off from its release. In the interview, Layden was also asked if we would be seeing exclusive PlayStation 4 Pro titles, to which Layden assured: “that will never happen.”

While this may not be extremely surprising that PlayStation 5 is the next big move for Sony, it’s great to actually hear it confirmed from Layden himself, especially given the fact we are mid-generation right now. Midway into the cycle of the PlayStation 3, fans were already speculating about the release of PlayStation 4.

Instead of riding out the typical seven-year cycle between console releases without any substantial piece of new hardware, this generation both Sony and Microsoft have offered fans impressive upgrades with the PlayStation 4 Pro and the upcoming Xbox One X; not to mention Sony has also been trying its hand at VR. When speaking to the capabilities of PS4 Pro, Layden had this to say, courtesy of Google translate: 

With the PlayStation 4 Pro we have, for the first time, implemented this kind of innovation within the life cycle of a console. The Pro is really only to offer advantages such as 4K resolutions and HMD for players who can and want to use that. Add this to a more stable image rate and large hard disk space. But who has a standard PS4 has no disadvantages. Each of our games will continue to run on the classic PS4 and slightly better on the Pro.

For those who still have not made the leap to PS4 Pro, now that we have confirmation of PlayStation 5, it could be beneficial to just bide your time now. If previous console releases are anything to go off of (PS3 was released in 2006 and PS4 in 2013), then it may not be too far-fetched to say we could see a new addition to the PlayStation family around holiday 2020.

Let us know what you all think of this news!