Sony President Responds to 'PS5 2018 Release Date' Rumors

Jun 28, 2017 10:00 AM EDT

With the release of Xbox One X on November this year, many PlayStation fans are curious about the future of Sony gaming consoles.  Numerous websites claim Sony might launch the PlayStation 5 as early as next year to keep up with Microsoft's 4K console. In a recent interview, Sony President Shawn Layden responds to the rumors.

In a dialogue with German site Golem.De, Layden confirmed PS5 is coming, but it will not arrive for "some time." The question surfaced when Sony President was asked if there will be no PlayStation 4 Pro-exclusive games in the future. The current PlayStation 4 was released in November 2013, and market experts claimed its successor would be announced in 2018.

Macquarie Capital Securities analyst Damian Thong previously said the PS5 would become available in the latter part of 2018, probably in November. Keep in mind that he accurately predicted the release date of the PS4 Slim and PS4 Pro, so many websites quickly picked up Thong's 2018 prediction.

However, PlayStation 4 Pro only became available November last year that's why many fans are skeptical about PS5 launching in 2018.  Also, Sony is not famous for releasing major hardware every two years. In addition, Layden's recent statement hinted we will not see PS5 anytime soon.

For realistic predictions, we might see the PlayStation 5 on 2020 or even 2021.  It is not yet revealed if the next-generation console will have 4K/60 fps capability, but considering that Xbox One X will have 4k/60fps on some games, it is safe to assume that PS5 will have the same feature.

Meanwhile, Sony officials have already announced their goal to grow the PS4 gaming community. The company said it aims to get the 100 million mark in sales. Marketing experts stated that figure is hard to achieve considering only 60 million PS4 consoles have been sold since its launching in 2013.  

Interestingly, during E3 2017, Shawn Layden said he believes PS4-exclusive games like God of War, Days Gone, and Spider-man will significantly boost the sales of the company to reach the 100 million-units goal.

For PlayStation Plus subscribers, the full lineup of June 2017 free games is now available. Of course, there are six free games in total, two for each Sony gaming platform. Check out the list below.

PlayStation 3

  • Abyss Odyssey,
  • WRC 5: World Rally Championship

PlayStation Vita

  • Neon Chrome
  • Spy Chameleon

PlayStation 4

  • Killing Floor 2
  • Life is Strange

Also, don't forget there are PlayStation Plus Specials for avid PS fans. Get WWE 2K17 & NBA 2K17 and The Division & Rainbow Six Siege bundles at very affordable price.