Sony is gearing up for the PlayStation 4's eventual successor.
While development on the PlayStation 4's successor has likely been going on for years, Sony has official confirmed that it's in the works. Here's everything we know about it so far.
What form will it take?
Despite Microsoft's rumored plans to create two separate next-gen Xbox consoles, one specifically designed for streaming through the power of the Cloud, Sony appears to be going the traditional route compared to its competition. According to a report from the Financial Times, sources familiar with Sony's plans have stated that the future console "might not represent a major departure from the PS4, and that the fundamental architecture would be similar."
This indicates that Sony may not be working on a streaming platform, though the future does look to be more streaming-friendly as internet speeds and connections improve around the world.
Specs
Do we know any exact specs yet? No. But we can infer that it will be better than the PlayStation 4 Pro in terms of performance. The PS5, or whatever it will be named, will likely support 4K resolution at 60FPS while gaming. As for storage, I'd say it's safe to assume that its internal hard drive will be 1TB or greater.
The above graphic, which refers to the PS4 Pro by its codename, compares some of the Pro's specs versus a traditional PlayStation 4.
What will it be named?
The likely answer is simple: PlayStation 5. However, Sony has declined to comment on an official name of any sort. For now, what we know it that it will be the successor to the PS4.
There was some speculation that its codename internally at Sony is Erebus, following the naming conventions of Greek-themed codenames for some of the company's previous products, but an Epic employee struck this rumor down by stating that Erebus was simply their codename for the Switch version of Fortnite in Unreal Engine 4 before it was announced.
What will it cost?
Again, we don't know for sure, but it's safe to say likely over $400 given the technology that may be utilized and prices of previous hardware.
When will it release?
The PlayStation 5 has no definitive launch date, but people are expecting it within the next few years.
There is speculation that a release could come as early as 2019 based on a job listing from Infinity Ward. According to LinkedIn, the company is looking to hire an Associate Game Designer for an "unannounced next-gen title." Call of Duty fans will note that next year's Call of Duty release should be coming from Infinity Ward, if the series' studio development pattern holds true. This is leading many to believe that the next year's Call of Duty will be a next-gen title. This of course is making the assumption that Infinity Ward—if the studio is indeed developing next year's Call of Duty for next-gen systems—will release both current-gen and next-gen versions simultaneously, and assuming that this is referring to Call of Duty and not some other project entirely.
Thurrott reports that Microsoft is planning to release the next-generation Xbox in 2020. Plans can change, but if true, Sony will stick with a similar time frame. If Sony wants to keep pace with the competition, the PS5 may release in 2020 or sooner.
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