PS6 'Almost Certainly' Won't Arrive Before 2028, Says Analyst After Sony Announces Discless PlayStation Future

Sony announced Wednesday it would end physical disc production for all new games on PlayStation consoles starting January 2028. The announcement suggests the company could be planning to launch its next-generation console, the PlayStation 6, around the same time. One analyst believes that Sony's announcement “almost certainly guarantees” that the PS6 won't launch before 2028.

The PlayStation parent sparked intense backlash with the update that it would discontinue game discs for all new titles coming to PlayStation consoles. While the announcement doesn't specify platforms and dates, the timeline and the phrasing suggest Sony could be readying an all-digital PS6 console for 2028.

According to Ampere analyst Piers Harding-Rolls, Sony's announcement “almost certainly guarantees” that the PS6 won't arrive until 2028 at the earliest. Initial reports had pointed to Sony releasing its next console in 2027, but the rising hardware costs in recent months have led industry insiders and analysts to believe that the tenth generation of consoles will likely be delayed.

PS6 to Launch Without a Disc Drive

Ampere's estimate is that the PS6 will launch towards the end of 2028. Harding-Rolls also said that a potential standard version of PS6 would likely not come with a physical media disc drive, “at the minimum.” Sony discontinuing discs in 2028 indicates as much. The company currently sells both a digital and a disc version of the PS5. However, the company launched a digital-only PS5 Pro in 2024, with the option to buy an attachable disc drive separately.

According to Ampere, Sony could follow a similar strategy with the PS6.

“Sony will be looking for all the ways it can reduce the cost of its next-gen console, and this is an easy win,” the analyst said. “It's possible that an add-on disc drive could be made available to play older PS4 and PS5 games on disc. Removing the drive will upset some gamers that don't want to pay for an add-on disc drive (if available) and that want to access their game collections on disc.”

With future games, both first- and third-party, going digital-only on PlayStation consoles, it makes little sense for the next PlayStation console to come with a Blu-ray drive. But the company could include an add-on disc drive to address backwards compatibility concerns.

As Ampere noted, Sony could also at some point offer PlayStation users a way to digitise their physical game discs. Reports have claimed that Microsoft is working on a similar disc-to-digital solution for its future console.

However, that move, too, is unlikely to placate gamers who value physical media. Sony's announcement Wednesday sparked a storm of criticism from players, industry insiders, public figures, and even game developers.

In a post on X, Billy Basso, the solo developer behind award-winning indie Animal Well, said Sony's move had killed his desire to develop for the platform.

“Extremely sad to think I'll never release another physical game for PlayStation. Releasing the physical versions of Animal Well was a huge motivator all throughout development. It really kills my desire to develop for the platform,” Basso said. “I'm hoping they reverse this decision.”