We’re nearly five years into the current console lifecycle — for Microsoft and Sony that is — and so it is perhaps inevitable that credible rumors around what both companies have up their sleeves in terms of hardware are ramping up. This latest rumor, which deals with an alleged PlayStation 6 handheld console, includes some interesting detail that, if it has a basis in reality, could suggest the Nintendo Switch 2 has a competitor on its hands.
Moore’s Law Is Dead said in a recent video that this so far unannounced PlayStation 6 handheld will be dockable and backwards compatible with PS4 and PS5 games. The YouTube channel even has information on alleged specs for the device, which apparently include a 16CU RDNA 5 iGPU clocked at 1.20 GHz in handheld mode and 1.65 GHz in docked mode.
According to Moore’s Law Is Dead, the PS6 handheld will cost “significantly” less than the upcoming Xbox Ally X, age “way better,” and will be “raw performance stronger.” The ROG Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X release on October 16, but Microsoft has yet to announce the price.
There’s also a brief mention of what is described as a PS6S, which sounds like it could be to the PS6 what the Xbox Series S is to the Xbox Series X. If this is true, you’d expect the less powerful console to be cheaper.
Moore’s Law Is Dead’s information is, it claims, based on up-to-date AMD documentation it has reviewed. Still, a huge number of questions remain, and let’s remember Sony has yet to announce firm details on its future consoles.
And what will this PS6 handheld cost? Moore’s Law Is Dead estimates $299-$399 for the PS6S, $399-$499 for the PS6 handheld, and $549-$699 for the base PS6. If this comes to pass, the PS6 handheld would easily price match the Nintendo Switch 2. Moore’s Law Is Dead suggests a fall 2027 release window for all three devices.
In June, Sony executives started talking about the next-generation of consoles, and answered in vague terms the question of whether one was already in development. In an investor-focused interview published on Sony’s corporate website, Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO and president Hideaki Nishino was asked directly: with cloud gaming more of a viable option than ever before, do we need a next-generation console? Is SIE developing one?
Nishino began by explaining why console hardware is still needed despite the rise of cloud gaming: “We have been in cloud gaming for over the last 11 years. We deployed a cloud gaming service to support the PS3, PS4, and PS5 generations and we are really proud about the quality we have been delivering.
“Cloud streaming through PlayStation Plus Premium, and we have a cloud streaming beta on the PlayStation Portal, is one such way we are doing this.
“However, the business model for cloud gaming must be sustainable for the longer term growth. Cloud gaming is progressing well from a technical standpoint, as we have demonstrated with these offerings. But end-to-end network stability is not in our control.
“Cloud gaming is increasingly providing an additional option for players to access content. But our belief is the majority of players continue to want a play experience, the gaming through a local execution, without dependency on network conditions. PS5 and PS5 Pro have validated this thesis, I believe.”
So, Sony remains committed to video game consoles, at least for now. But is a new console actually now in development? Here’s Nishino again:
“Our console business has evolved into a multi-faceted platform, and we now have a large ecosystem of highly engaged players across both the PS5 and the PS4 generations. So naturally, therefore, there is a huge interest in our next-generation console strategy.
“While we cannot share further details at this stage, the future of the platform is top of mind. We are committed to exploring a new and enhanced way for players to engage with our content and our services.”
The answer, then, is yes, Sony is developing a next-generation console, although that shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Console manufacturers often start work on next-generation consoles soon after they release current-gen consoles. In fact, Sony started development of PS5 almost immediately after PS4 came out back in November 2013. Following what’s gone before, perhaps PS6 has already been in the works for five years. Maybe even longer.
And if you look at the PlayStation Portal and how it has evolved, Sony is clearly steering in the direction of a handheld. Indeed, Nishino was asked during the investor interview about Sony’s strategy around the PlayStation Portal, and whether handhelds are a part of its next-generation strategy, although he failed to answer in a meaningful way.
The ‘will there be a next-gen?’ question has been bubbling under the surface ever since the current-gen kicked off in November 2020. With the PS5 now pushing past the halfway point of its life and Microsoft releasing Xbox-branded handhelds, change, clearly, is coming. What isn’t clear is exactly what that looks like when both Sony and Microsoft finally pull the trigger.
In February, former Sony Interactive Entertainment Worldwide Studios CEO Shawn Layden said Sony can’t get away with launching the PS6 as an all digital, disc-less console. Layden said that, while Xbox has found success in that regard, PlayStation has such a large market share that it would be shutting out too many people by removing physical and offline games from its library.
“I don’t think Sony can get away with it now,” Layden said. “I think Xbox has had more success in pursuing that strategy, but Xbox is really most successful in their business in a clutch of countries: the U.S., Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa. Coincidentally enough all English speaking countries.
“Sony, which is the number one platform in probably 170 countries around the world, has an obligation or a responsibility to say, ‘If we go discless, how much of my market is not able to make that jump? Can users in rural Italy get a decent connection to enjoy games?'”
And in September last year, it was reported that Intel lost the PS6 chip contract to AMD in 2022. The PS4 came out November 2013, and the PS5 seven years later, in November 2020. If this pattern repeats itself, the PS6 will come out November 2027. One game that may be set to launch on PS6 is Physint, Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima’s long-awaited return to the “action espionage” genre. The Witcher 4 isn’t due out until 2027 at the earliest, so perhaps that’s a next-generation game, too.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
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