PS5

The PlayStation 5 will be released in 2020 or sooner, as per our current predictions (see below). This countdown is based on careful review of historical trends, news and information, leaks, research, and current gaming trends.
We are continually updating this page with new information as it breaks that could alter this prediction. In 2013 we came within a few days of predicting the PS4 release date. We plan on having the same high accuracy for the PS5 release date. Looking at the cycles of past PlayStations can we begin to chart a course of when we should expect to see the PlayStation 5! Back in 1994, Sony unleashed the PlayStation on the world, a bastion of high-end technology that changed gaming as we know it forever.

It was only six years later that it outdid itself with the PlayStation 2, a system that many still believe is the crowning pinnacle of the PlayStation brand. It made history as one of the best-selling video game consoles ever. Following a pattern, six years later the PlayStation 3 was released, ushering in an era of online games and networks that once again changed the face of gaming forever. Then came the PS4, which blew it's rival the Xbox One out of the water.

GPU Graphics and Hardware
Now that we’ve covered the potential processing power of the PS5, it’s time to talk about the graphics hardware. Let’s look at the specs we’ll be seeing in 2020:

1. Everything is in 4K UHD
By 2020, all digital content will be presented in 4K resolution. By the time the PS5 releases in 2020, everything from television, to movies, to streaming will be in this ultra high resolution. A recent survey of media executives showed that nearly two-thirds of the respondents said that 4K would be mainstream within the next five years.

Prices are high right now as this emerging technology is hitting the market. As time goes on, the cost of regulating and producing 4K content will go down, as will the prices. This puts the timeline directly in line with the PS5’s release. Given this, the PS5 will absolutely support 4K.

2. Holographic Displays

This may sound ridiculous, but it’s already happening. A California-based company named Ostendo is working on a chipset that has the ability to project video onto a 48-inch diagonal surface. With multiple projections, it could theoretically form complex images.

Let’s not forget about projection keyboards either. HP is also working on a 3D interface for smartphones. Combine this with the potential for the next iPhone to have a holographic interface, and suddenly this science fiction isn’t fiction anymore.

The PS5 can use this type of technology on the controller to showcase maps and messages by displaying them in front of your very eyes. Depending on how much the technology has evolved, you may be able to interact with these 3D projections as well.

3. Photorealistic Graphics

Graphics always take a huge leap forward with each new game console. When the PS5 releases, we’ll be looking at graphics that will possibly be indistinguishable from real life. We’re already seeing this line blurred with game environments, and that’s just the beginning. Games like The Vanishing of Ethan Carter are using a technique called photogrammetry to bring real life objects and settings into the game.

The biggest obstacle we’re facing is human faces. An observations known as the Uncanny Valley describes how we feel a sense of “uncanniness” when we look at someone that seems real, but isn’t quite right. In order to solve this, and other issues like realistic lighting, we’ll have to develop new and more powerful methods.

We’re already making progress with DirectX 12. This is a platform that developers use to make games, and according to Stardock’s CEO, Brad Wardell, DirectX 12 will bring CG-level graphics on PC by 2020. He makes a good point when he says that developers will learn to optimize development and better utilize the console’s resources as time goes on. This is true of any new development platform, but DirectX 12 is poised to bring us into the next level of graphics just in time for the PS5.