Sony may be planning to extend the PlayStation 5 lifecycle much longer than expected, pushing the PlayStation 6 launch to 2028 or even beyond, according to a new report from MST Financial analyst David Gibson published on Sandstone Insights Japan.
The report suggests the Japanese company is looking to maximize profits from its current generation before making the jump to next-gen hardware.
Gibson noted that Sony’s third fiscal quarter results exceeded market expectations, driven by sales of both first-party and third-party titles.
“Sony expects the PS5’s lifecycle to be extended, and the PS6’s release is likely to be delayed longer than many expected“, the analyst stated. Traditionally, PlayStation consoles follow a seven-year cycle, which would put the PS6 arriving in November 2027, but that timeline now appears increasingly uncertain.
The RAM crisis behind the delay
The main factor behind this potential delay is a global RAM crisis affecting the entire tech industry. DDR5 and GDDR7 memory prices have skyrocketed since September 2025, when artificial intelligence companies began massively purchasing these components to build data centers.
This has left console manufacturers like Sony and Microsoft scrambling to secure supplies at reasonable prices.
Tom Henderson of Insider Gaming reported on December 29, 2025 that both Sony and Microsoft are internally debating whether they should delay their next-generation consoles beyond the anticipated 2027-2028 window, hoping that RAM manufacturers can expand their infrastructure and bring prices down.
The situation has reached a critical point where producing millions of consoles at the traditional competitive price of $500 has become extremely difficult.
Sony’s strategic play
Beyond technical constraints, Sony has strategic reasons to extend the current generation. Sony CFO Lin Tao stated in November 2025 that the PS5 is “only in the middle of its lifecycle” and that the company plans to expand it even further.
With over 84 million units sold to date and the recent launch of the PS5 Pro in November 2024, Sony has a successful hardware base that still has plenty to offer.
PlayStation lead architect Mark Cerny confirmed in October 2025 that they’re working on advanced graphics technology with AMD to “bring them to a future console in a few years’ time”, making it clear that work on the PS6 is underway but the launch is still distant. Interestingly, many gamers have received this news enthusiastically.
On Reddit, users commented that “this generation of consoles still has lots to give” and that they’d prefer a longer PS5 cycle rather than rushing into new technology.
If the PS6 is ultimately delayed until 2029 or 2030, the PlayStation 5 will have had one of the longest lifecycles in Sony’s history, similar to what Microsoft did with the Xbox 360 (eight years) and Nintendo with the Switch (eight years and three months).
The question now is whether RAM supply issues will resolve in time or if the next generation will have to wait even longer than anticipated.
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