Gamers can expect PlayStation 6 “in a few years” – Mark Cerny claims

Mark Cerny talks about “a future console” with AMD, and it’s undoubtedly PlayStation 6

PlayStation’s resident tech wizard (Chief Architect) Mark Cerny teased a suite of next-generation graphical features with AMD’s Jack Huynh, giving gamers a glimpse at the next generation of gaming hardware. During this discussion, Cerny talked about a “future console (PlayStation 6?)” that would contain these features and is expected to arrive in “a few years’ time.”

We talked about AMD’s hardware announcements extensively here. To summarise, the next generation of consoles will feature new ray tracing/path tracing hardware, advanced AI, and next-generation memory compression technology. All of these technologies will result in better-looking games and more efficient hardware utilisation.

Cerny states that it is “still early days for these technologies,” and that they “only exist in simulations right now.” Regardless, these new technologies are promising, and it’s only a matter of time before this simulated tech becomes real silicon.

Expect PlayStation 6 “in a few years’ time”

Given Cerny’s “a few years’ time” comments, we expect to see PlayStation 6 in 2028. If Sony follows usual trends, it will likely be released in November 2028. PlayStation 5 Pro was only released last year. PlayStation 5 launched four years after PlayStation 4 Pro. Given this console launch cadence, a 2028 release for PlayStation 6 makes a lot of sense.

With PS6, Sony isn’t just making a more powerful PlayStation 5. PS6 will feature new ray tracing hardware and AI hardware. To say the least, PS5’s ray tracing hardware is early ray tracing hardware. With PS6, Sony plans to move from mere ray tracing capability to path tracing capability. Furthermore, AI hardware will be deeply embedded into PS6. With PS5 Pro, AI is an optional feature that has only been used for upscaling. With PS6, AI’s use will be much broader, and it will be available on all consoles.

If you think PS6 is just a “faster PS5”, you are wrong. Next-generation consoles will have new hardware capabilities, and those capabilities will change gaming. This will be a bigger leap than PS4 to PS5. That said, developers will need to use Sony’s new features to get the most out of their new console.

You can join the discussion on Mark Cerny’s plans for PlayStation 6 on the OC3D Forums.