Next Gen Consoles Release 2026?

[SoliDeoGloriaIHS]

I still have about 20 games across PS3, 4 and Vita in my backlog that I have to get to.  That's one of the two main reaaons why I have yet to get a PS5.  The second main reason is after just over three years there is only one - ONE - game that is out exclusively for the PS5 not cross-gen with the PS4 that I want to play and that is Final Fantasy XVI.  The only other game that is supposedly coming out later this year that will be only on the PS5 (not the PS4) is Stellar Blade.  I said it a few times now.  Why the heck would I drop $500 on a PS5 for ONE game that I want to play?  Why?!  The way I see it, three years in, this might be the worst offering of new, original games - not including all of the unnecessary remasters of PS4 games that are only a few years old - for a current gen console that I have ever seen.  By that, I mean new, original games that are ONLY available on the PS5, not cross-gen PS5 and PS4 because again....what's the point of dropping $500 on a PS5 to play the same game available on PS4?  Upgraded graphics?  Faster loading times?  Most all games on PS4 look great to me.  Heck, PS3 games still look really good to me in most (not all) cases.  And now supposedly according to this post, the PS6 is scheduled to be released in 2026. LMFAOOOO It better be more like 2028 and if it is, I might still skip the current PS5 generation.  The 20 or so games that I still have left to play and platinum in my backlog will probably take me about three years so 2028 suits me fine. 

[Wired-Warlock]

Thread starter is delusional.

 

Maybe Microsoft is desperate enough to get a head start on Sony and release early but PS6 is 2028...

 

.

[PHIL_DADDY1]

There is no chance of this happening... that's all...

[Dreakon13]

I think Microsoft is trending towards getting rid of physicals, which effectively takes a lot of the design, marketing and retail work out of the equation.  Without that, especially since every Microsoft console is just gonna run the exact same OS anyways, you're left with the hardware.

 

Too many hardware configurations would make a confusing amount of SKU's and a nightmare to develop for (though probably still simpler than PC development)... but Microsoft already tested the waters with the Series S and Series X, and I could see an all digital future shortening the lifecycle of any one console more than you'd usually see in a "generation".

 

All this said, I could see Microsoft pushing a new Game Pass machine out by 2026-2027.  Why not.

 

Sony less so though if Microsoft see's any success in something like that it'd probably be bad news for collectors.  Nintendo is on their own timeline.

Edited January 27 by Dreakon13

[Colin_Raleigh]

One of the dumbest decisions ever made in video game history was both Sony and Microsoft releasing a new generation of consoles in the middle of both Covid and a chip shortage. In all honesty when it comes to the following generation everyone involved in releasing new hardware needs to be a hell of a lot better prepared.

[SelectiveGamer]

Don't console generations last close to 7 years or somewhere around that number? PS5 and Xbox Series hasn't been around nearly that long.

 

Just saying.

 

I could be wrong though

 

like the poster of this thread

[TJ_Solo]

Again no source. More arbitrary drivel from places looking for clicks and the indoctrinated looking for attention. They say a little bit of everyhing in order to have a "told you so" moment when one of their 1000s guesses come true.

 

It is about as reasonable as a weather forcaster trying to tell people that it will snow on December 10, 2030. It is "likely" because of the season and climate for the area but it is absurd to make a prediction. 

 

But here we are. The gaming media and gaming community looking for the absurd instead of dealing with the now.

[Fing3rButt3r3]

Well if its coming out next year I hope I can get a free upgrade, or maybe pay $10 for the upgrade.

[Rozalia1]

The only talk I've seen of a next generation console in 2026 is from Xbox influencers (paid shills) putting it out there to try and limit the damage within what is left of their fanbase from all the talk of the PS5 getting a 'Pro' version while Xbox doesn't. The apparently scrapped new Xbox that leaked being a 'slim' version and going by what the Xbox friendly Digital Foundry has said, the Series X is apparently their Pro version.

 

The gist of why they'd do such a thing is that being early is an advantage, would give them a power edge, and it would allow them to wipe the slate clean of the horribly performing Series S|X. The problems however are vast. If there is indeed going to be a PS5 Pro then whatever power edge, which is largely not important anyway, will be small. To get said advantage it means that they'll have to lose loads of money on the console too, and they already lose huge amounts on the S|X, and it would come at a time where Microsoft is seemingly finally actually looking at Xbox's finances. Third parties would not have the new Xbox as a lead platform and would likely just brute force things rather than optimise, something which team green says happens right now with the Series X to try and explain away why some games perform better on PS5 and others only perform slightly better on Series X. Game wise nobody, including their own studios, would be putting out next gen only games, heck, most are likely going to be built as previous gen games and not even current gen. At best Microsoft could for PR purposes pull a Forza scam, where the game releases only on the next generation, having been 'built from the ground up', but is actually just a game built with the old gen in mind that didn't get released for old gen. Then you have the matter of the clean slate which is interesting considering that Phil Spencer himself has in the past rubbished such a thing existing anymore. Discontinuing the terrible Series S|X rather than give a 'clean slate' is more likely to give the message to people to not risk investing in Xbox consoles than anything else, which was one of the things that hurt Sega. Nintendo were successful doing it with the Switch? Sure, but Microsoft is not 1/100th of what Nintendo is. Nintendo is essentially the most trusted brand in gaming and for many is straight up the greatest video game company in the world. Microsoft for many meanwhile is Evil Corp that destroys their competitors with dirty tactics and puts out shoddy soulless products.