The redemption ofActivision-Blizzard by Microsoft sometimes leads to unintended consequences, with declarations that one would not have imagined seeing. To oppose this deal, sony submitted a lengthy report to the British Markets Regulation Agency, and it is rich in information and details that are worth the detour. We will come back to this later, but the most essential point in this document is the fact that Sony is directly talking about its next console.
Already have a date planned internally?
Sony referred to a next generation of PlayStation console in its CMA response, with the suggested year of release being redacted
This was in a passage where it was referring to losing access to CoD after 2027, with higher potential for platform switching
PlayStation 6 in 2028? pic.twitter.com/f7govC8R7A
— Piers Harding-Rolls (@PiersHR) November 23, 2022
Yes, the PS5 has just been released and we still can’t find it on the market, but you can imagine that somewhere, a Sony team is already working on the PlayStation 6.
This document makes direct reference to it, via the case of call of duty. First of all, it is important to point out that this report was provided to regulators prior to Microsoft’s new proposal to Sony regarding this licensewhich explains why certain passages are now somewhat obsolete.
Still, in this document, Sony raises the possibility of losing the license call of duty on its PlayStation consoles, and this at a strategic moment which could sign the change of generation.
Sony expects to lose the license around 2027 (remember that this assumption predates the new deal proposed by Microsoft), and thus evokes the PS6 by stating that in “ launching the new generation of PlayStation (which should happen around…) it [Sony] will have lost access to Call of Duty and other Activision games. “. The three little dots here actually represent a date that has been crossed out from the document provided to the public.
Which means that Sony probably expects to launch its new console in 2027 – 2028 (at the earliest), after potentially losing call of duty in 2027. Enough to give the PS5 a life cycle of 7 to 8 years, which is more or less similar to that of the PS4.
Nothing surprising there, but seeing Sony directly mention a period for its new generation remains quite intriguing. Of course, things can still change between now and then.