Sony unveils the PS5 and its accessories
It appears the contour of the stand should be able to interchangeably hold the console on its side or on its bottom. Photo: Sony

The most recent PlayStation, the PS5, just arrived in 2020, which means gamers will be enjoying the console for years to come. The PS6 release is still years away, but that's not stopping fans from speculating when it might arrive and what cool upgraded features it will have.

PlayStation 6 feature – Metaverse-ready consoles via fully-integrated VR capabilities and hardware

There's a good chance that Sony's next console will arrive with fully integrated VR hardware. At the moment, gamers have to buy separate devices and hook them up to existing PCs and consoles for virtual reality games, according to LifeWire. Perhaps Sony will lump headsets and motion controllers into the same box as the console for the first time in PS6.

Big tech firms have been betting big on the metaverse. Facebook, for instance, has changed its name to Meta to signify its new thrust in terms of business growth and has spent billions of dollars in development. The company is also ramping up its headset development and recently announced that it will be launching its new VR headset in October, according to CNBC.

If Sony wants to tap into the projected rise of the metaverse economy, the only way to do it is to come up with a console that's ready for the metaverse. The metaverse promises to offer a more immersive online experience, which can only be fully realized with the use of VR headsets. Thus, Sony needs to come up with a PlayStation 6 that already has a built-in VR capability in the hardware so gamers can use the console to play games in the metaverse.

PlayStation 6 release date

In the past, the lifecycle of older PlayStation consoles was 7 to 10 years. However, the rapid development and evolution of technology have reduced this cycle to just 6 to 7 years.

This means that gamers can expect the PS6 to arrive six to seven years after the PS5's launch. Since the latest console was launched in 2020, the PlayStation 6 will likely arrive by 2026 or 2027.

In addition, Sony usually releases its consoles five years after the start of its development. For instance, PS4's development started in 2008, and it was released five years later. Similarly, PS5's development started in 2015 and was also released five years later.

A job listing in 2021 seemed to suggest that Sony had already started the development of the PS6. If the pattern remains true, fans can expect the PlayStation 6's release five years later, which is in 2026.