With the PlayStation 5 somehow getting more expensive six years into its life cycle, it’s hard to even consider a hypothetical PlayStation 6 right now, but Sony is no doubt hard at work on the next-gen console. Based on a new leak from YouTube channel Moore’s Law Is Dead, the PS6 may be looking to directly compete with the Nintendo Switch 2 via a handheld gaming device.
If you want the full breakdown of all the tech, you can check out the lengthy video below, but to put it in layperson terms, Sony has been asking developers to optimize their PS5 games for the system’s “Power Saver Mode,” and Moore’s Law Is Dead believes this to be a “Trojan Horse” for supporting PS6 handheld backwards compatibility, as the channel’s sources tell it that this mode’s internal workings match the previously leaked specs for the handheld. The video really digs into the tech if that’s your jam, but all you really need to know is that it seems like Sony is prioritizing Power Saver Mode over things like PlayStation 5 Pro optimization.
Moore’s Law Is Dead also says they have a source confirming that PlayStation is working on an equivalent to Xbox’s Smart Delivery system that allows you to download specific versions of cross-generation games for whatever system you’re playing on called “PlayGo.” The reason this is relevant to the hypothetical PS6 handheld is because their source says that the PS5 Power Saver Mode is getting its own packaging within PlayGo, which they say would only be done if this was a basis of an entire platform, as smaller textures don’t actually contribute to energy saving on their own.
One last bit of information from Moore’s Law Is Dead’s sources is that it sounds like the PS6 might be imminent, as Sony is telling developers it plans to sunset some PS4 features this spring and says that studios should be ready to adopt the cross-gen software dev kits, which offers access to newer online services for a more “unified and scalable foundation across console generations,” with plans to give more details on the date and timing for the change “as [the company gets] closer to transition.” So if we hear that some old PS4 online features are shutting down in the coming months, that might be a signal to hold off on buying one of the price-inflated PlayStation 5 systems if you haven’t already, as the PS6 could be around the corner.
If this all pans out, it remains to be seen how Sony would package the PS6. Would this handheld be dockable like the Switch? A companion device like the PlayStation Portal? It’s unlikely that we’ll know for sure this year, but 2027 does seem like a possibility. It will have been seven years since the PS5’s launch in 2020, and that was how many years we waited for the PS5 after the PS4.