PS5 release date, specs, news and rumors for Sony’s PlayStation 5
PS5 release date, specs, news and rumors for Sony’s PlayStation 5
PS5 (or PlayStation 5) is the next-generation PlayStation, releasing in late 2020, after a long and incredible decade that saw Sony emerge as the clear winner in the home console wars in the eyes of many (sorry Xbox).
So what do we know about the PS5 so far? The hysteria started in early 2019, when Mark Cerny, the chief architect on Sony's next console, confirmed that the company was working on the successor to the PS4 Slim and PS4 Pro.
We wouldn't get the official name or release date until much later, but Cerny did shed some light on the next-gen console's capabilities, revealing that it would retain a disc drive, and would have something to do with Sony's game streaming ambitions; other than that there was little else to go on.
Since then, Sony has been feeding us juicy tidbits such as an official PS5 release window, logo, name and a few key details about features. According to Sony, the PS5 still has big surprises to come – but it won't be revealing them at E3 2020, as the company has confirmed it won't be attending this year, again.
That's not to say we won't see the PS5 anytime soon - the official PS5 website is now live, further fueling rumors that Sony is planning a PS5 reveal event in the near future, although this hasn't been confirmed.
In addition, we've had some surprising leaks, in the form of a Sony-registered patent that seems to show off the PS5's general shape, button inputs, and cooling vents – this was confirmed to be the PS5 dev kit in a leaked photo. However, we expect the end product design will be different for the PlayStation 5's official launch later in the year.
Sony can only keep the finer details of the next-generation PlayStation a secret for so much longer – especially with Microsoft having officially unveiled the Xbox Series X. But between the rumored specs, likely next-gen titles, and official features we are aware of, there's plenty to keep us busy for now.
Here's everything we know about the PS5 so far – and what we hope will be revealed the closer we get to launch.
PS5 Key Facts
- What is it? The Sony PS5 is the next-gen PlayStation console, replacing the PS4 Slim and PS4 Pro.
- When will it release? "Holiday 2020" in the US, says Sony, so between October and December 2020.
- What can I play on it? Only a few titles have been confirmed, but expect all of Sony's big franchises, as well as in-development exclusives like Ghost of Tsushima.
- Will PS5 have VR? Oh yes. The next-gen console will be compatible with current PSVR hardware, and there are also rumors of PSVR 2.
- What will the PS5 cost? The PS4 and PS4 Pro were both $399 / £349 at launch, but we expect the PS5 will cost somewhat more. Leaks have suggested around the $499 mark.
- Can I play PS4 games on the PS5? Sony has said to expect a lot in terms of backwards compatibility, despite that being an area where Microsoft is usually better.
PS5 Release Date
Sony has officially confirmed that the PS5 will release "in time for Holiday 2020" in the US, so likely some time between October and December 2020. A leak has suggested that the release date will be November 20, 2020 but that's yet to be confirmed – but it's in the right window, and it would leave time before Christmas to get those orders in.
PS5 Price
This would put the PlayStation 5 in direct competition with Microsoft's Xbox Series X (formerly Xbox Project Scarlett), which is releasing during the same period. Game on.
Sony hasn't officially confirmed a PS5 price yet and, according to the company, that's because it hasn't actually decided how much the next-gen console will cost.
In a quarterly earnings call (via Spiel Times), Sony's chief financial officer Hiroki Totoki revealed the company still hasn't nailed down the PS5 price.
"What is not very clear or visible is because we are competing in the space, so it’s very difficult to discuss anything about the price at this point of time, and depending upon the price level, we may have to determine the promotion that we are going to deploy and how much costs we are prepared to pay," Totoki explained.
“First, we must absolutely control the labour cost, the personnel cost, it must be controlled, and the initial ramp up, how much can we prepare initially, we will work on the production and the sales and we will have to prepare the right volume as we launch this," Totoki continued.
“It’s a balancing act it’s very difficult to say anything concrete at this point of time," Totoki said. But we do know that Sony is aiming for "the best balance so that we will be profitable in the life, during the life of this product."
While Sony may not have a price nailed down, there have been rumors about how much the PS5 could cost. One such rumor has suggested that the console will cost $499 in North America when it launches.
PS5 Specs
- Bespoke 8-core AMD chipset (based on third-generation Ryzen architecture and with Navi GPU)
- SSD storage system
- Backwards compatibility with PS4 games and PSVR hardware
- 3D audio
- 8K TV support
That AMD one-two punch of CPU and GPU unlocks the powers of ray tracing, an advanced lighting technique that can bring next-level immersion to gaming visuals. It's Hollywood tech that's used in big-budget CGI spectacles, putting into context the levels of visual fidelity you can expect from the PS5.
Ray tracing is enabled by GPU hardware rather than software level, Mark Cerny told Wired. “There is ray tracing acceleration in the GPU hardware,” he explained.
Sony has confirmed that the PS5 will support 8K gaming, and we think AMD SmartShift could be the secret sauce that makes this possible.
With 8K TV support comes far more detailed textures, and much larger-scale ones at that. The news of a bespoke SSD drive will be heartening then – just because the games will be getting more complex, that doesn't mean they'll be slower to load. It's estimated that the new SSD is 19 times faster than traditional SSD storage methods (but given the speed difference between the SSD and the optical drive, installation of games will be mandatory).
Not only that, but by harnessing the power of the SSD, developers could potentially reduce the install sizes of games because, as Cerny told Wired, “there is no need to duplicate data to compensate for slow seek times that optical drives and HDDs have”.
The PS5 will benefit from simplified data management due to its SSD, and this will allow players to have more control over installing and removing games, for example by allowing players to install (or remove) only certain parts of a game – so instead of installing the full game, you could choose to just install the single-player mode and then do multiplayer later, or vice versa.
Physical games for the PS5 will use 100GB optical disks, inserted into an optical drive that doubles as a 4K Blu-ray player, and the next-generation hardware will boast a completely revamped UI.
Speaking about the new UI to Wired, Cerny said: "Even though it will be fairly fast to boot games, we don't want the player to have to boot the game, see what's up, boot the game, see what's up.
"Multiplayer game servers will provide the console with the set of joinable activities in real time. Single-player games will provide information like what missions you could do and what rewards you might receive for completing them – and all of those choices will be visible in the UI. As a player you just jump right into whatever you like."
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