PlayStation 5 is probably not going to come out until 2020

Sony’s PlayStation 5 is probably not going to be with us until around 2020, according to a new report on Kotaku. The site quizzed a number of industry folk about the release of fresh hardware after a rumour last week suggested a next-generation PlayStation could launch as early as this year.

According to multiple development sources, only two that were questioned by Kotaku admitted to knowing about the existence of the PS5. However, they made it clear that Sony is highly unlikely to launch a new system even in 2019, with a release this year about as likely as Leslie Grantham launching another EastEnders comeback. 

It’s worth noting that hardware dates can change frequently however, with one source noting, ‘On a multi-year project, a lot can happen to shift schedules both forward and backward.’

Kotaku went on to note that a large chunk of the developers it spoke to were not aware of any plans for a successor to the PS4, and this includes those who are employed at Sony’s first-party studios. In fact, the site observed that some had ‘laughed’ at a summary of the report that suggested PS5 would be released in 2018; for this to happen, the console would already be in the manufacturing stage, and would surprise a lot of people working on games slated for this fall and beyond.

There’s also claims that PS5 development kits have been doing the rounds in some studios, although if this is the case, they are unlikely actually look like anything other than a regular PC. Furthermore, whispers coming out of the Game Developers Conference last month suggested that the PS5 is probably not going to show its face until around 2020, the site added. 

Of course, there was a stage when Sony would typically release new hardware around five years after its previous console. Things changed with the PS4 though, which arrived seven years following the launch of its predecessor (and eight years in the case of Microsoft with the Xbox 360 and Xbox One).