Former Sony exec comments on PlayStation 6 release date

PlayStation 6 coming out in 2028 sounds about right, former Sony Computer Entertainment worldwide studios president Shuhei Yoshida reckons.

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The current console generation is entering its fifth year amid a games industry bloodbath. The market is laying off thousands of workers in droves, and cost-cutting has forced yet another unprecedented era for the interactive entertainment industry. Current events could disrupt the status quo, including the pivotal point where Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft release new refreshed hardware.

Despite what's going on in the world, Sony could deliver the PlayStation 6 sometime in 2028. At least that's the thought of Shuhei Yoshida, who led PlayStation's worldwide studios division for 11 years during the mega-popular PS4 gen.

In a recent interview with Venture Beat, Yoshida said:

"[Console cycles are] getting longer. The last cycle was seven years. If [gen 9] is seven years, we'll see a new one in 2027.

"I have no information about the next PlayStation, but it feels a bit too early for me to say. The PS5 generation was slowed down because of manufacturing issues. If the next PlayStation comes out in 2028, that feels right to me.

"Microsoft had their leak about a 2028 plan. Maybe both of them will come out then. There are diminishing returns from the semiconductors."

Yoshida's mention of the Xbox leaks is interesting, as it was underlined both in their internal documents as well as the FTC v Microsoft court documents that Microsoft indeed expects the next PlayStation due out sometime in 2028. And, of course, it's own hardware, which is said to target "the largest technical leap you will have ever seen in a hardware generation."

The comment about semiconductors is also interesting. The PlayStation 5 had been profitable starting in 2021, but many quarters in a row Sony had reported lower gaming segment operating income, explaining to investors that Sony was now taking less profits from each PS5 sold.

Sony has since rolled out multiple revisions to its PS5 hardware to make it lighter and smaller to ship. The PS5 Pro, on the other hand, is sold at a steep $700 MSRP and may be priced towards higher profitability.