No new Xbox, PlayStation consoles before 2028

Don’t expect the next PlayStation or Xbox to come anytime soon, as both companies say it won’t happen for more than half a decade

Both Sony and Microsoft have said that their next consoles won’t be launching anytime soon, with Microsoft saying that there’s at least another six years until their next Xbox.

As reported by VGC, Sony and Microsoft both submitted statements to the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) as part of its investigation into Microsoft’s proposed $100b acquisition of Activision Blizzard. In those statements, which recently became public, both companies gave a few hints as to the timing of their next consoles.

The CMA said in its initial findings that the impact of the sale would likely be most apparent “at the launch of the next generation of consoles, where games make fresh decisions about which console to buy”. But Microsoft wasn’t finding that argument particularly relevant, arguing that it was a long time away.

Sony’s PlayStation 5 has been the hit of the console generation, outselling the Xbox Series console despite a higher price range. Photo: Sony

“The Parties do not dispute that some portion of gamers are likely to re-assess their console ownership at the start of a new generation. But they also note that this is an event that only occurs approximately once every eight years,” Microsoft said in its submission, “The next generation of consoles are not expected to be released before the fall of 2028 at the very earliest”.

In Sony’s response, the PlayStation manufacturer also seems to confirm this rough timeline, although it’s a little less clear cut than Microsoft’s submission. Sony says that Microsoft offered to keep Call of Duty available on PlayStation until 2027, though this was before Microsoft offered Sony a 10-year Call of Duty deal.

The Xbox Series consoles comes in two variants: a low-cost Series S aimed at 1080p gaming, and a high-end Series X aimed at 4K gaming. Picture: Microsoft

Sony says that, under the initial 5-year deal, by the time it launches the next generation of its PlayStation console it would have lost access to Call of Duty and other Activision titles. While a specific date for the expected launch is redacted, we can all read between the lines and expect that 2028 is probably the earliest it could happen.

Not that the long wait to the next generation is of particular concern anyway, as the current generation of consoles is still going very strong. Despite launching in 2020, both the Xbox Series and the PlayStation 5 have been flying off shelves every time they’ve been restocked, and both consoles are reportedly selling as fast or faster than the previous generation.

Despite all the hubbub around Call of Duty, though, Microsoft says that the deal is not “all about Call of Duty”. Instead, Xbox head Phil Spencer says that Candy Crush developer King, who is also under the Activision Blizzard banner, is important to growing Microsoft’s stake in the mobile gaming space, where he says most of the growth in the games industry is happening.

Written by Oliver Brandt on behalf of GLHF.