PlayStation 5 rumors have circulated for over a year, and though we know that Sony’s next (and possibly last) gaming console is in the works, there’s still plenty we don’t know. Here’s everything you need to know about the PS5, including rumors about its release, specs, and games.
As we near the end of Sony’s fourth generation console, it’s time to start digging for rumors about its successor — the PlayStation 5. For a while there, it seemed like we’d continue getting newer versions of the PlayStation 4 with only slight technical upgrades from the last, but Sony officially confirmed its working on the next, and possibly even last, PlayStation gaming console. Rumors and confirmed details have been circulating the internet, and we’ve done our best to gather it all right here. From hardware to games, here is everything you need to know about the PS5.
Although many outlets have defaulted to calling Sony’s next-generation gaming console the PlayStation 5 or PS5, an official name has yet to be announced.
Sony did confirm that it is actively working on a new console in an interview with the Financial Times. CEO Kenichiro Yoshida confirmed that it is “necessary to have next-generation hardware.” In the same Financial Times report, it was said that the PS5 wouldn’t be radically different in design than the PS4.
This falls in line with what system architect Mark Cerny told Wired during an April 2019 interview. As you’ll find below, Sony’s next console will get a significant upgrade in power.
In the interview with Wired, Mark Cerny revealed that the PS5’s CPU and GPU are AMD chips that will be able to support 3D audio, 8K graphics, and ray tracing, a feature currently found on very powerful PCs. The CPU will be an eight-core chip based on the Ryzen line and use Zen 2 microarchitecture. The GPU will be based on the Radeon Navi line.
The PS5 will also be ditching a hard-disk drive in favor of a solid-state drive with higher bandwidth than those used in current PCs. With the move to an SSD drive, loading times should be reduced significantly when compared to Sony’s latest PS4 model, the PlayStation 4 Pro.
In an investors briefing, Sony shared that content that takes more than eight seconds to load on the PlayStation 4 Pro can be done in less than a second on the next-generation console.
The PlayStation 5 will support Blu-ray discs, as well as digital downloads and game streaming.
Mark Cerny confirmed that the PlayStation 5 will be backwards compatible with PS4 and PS VR games. This will not include PS3, Ps2, or PS1 games according to the BBC. The reason for this, Cerny cited, was the PS5 and PS4’s similar architecture. Sony later said it planned to use backwards compatibility to help players transition into the next-generation system from the PS4.
No information on a potential PS VR 2 has been released, but the PS5 will support the current headset. This means that instead of needing to keep your PS4 and PS5, you could trade-in or sell your earlier system.
Though Sony has not outright confirmed a successor to the PlayStation VR yet, the company has made it clear that it intends to improve on the headset’s design with future iterations. Speaking to CNET at the Collision Conference in Toronto, PlayStation’s global head of R&D Dominic Mallinson said that Sony aims to make future versions of PlayStation VR lighter, and less encumbered by wires. It’s possible that there will even be a completely wireless version released in addition to a more traditional model, with the wireless version costing more.
The CNET report also said PlayStation is considering using eye-tracking technology in its headset. This is something we’ve seen in premium headsets like the Vive Pro, and it would make way for more sensitive and intuitive control schemes in virtual reality games.
