Sony and Microsoft confirm that PS6 and next gen Xbox will not be released before 2028

Two years after the launch of the PS5 and Xbox X Series X|S, it's easy to conclude that the next generation of consoles is a long way off. But if you were in doubt, that's the conclusion reached after looking at a document related to Microsoft's purchase of Activision Blizzard. Neither Xbox nor PlayStation intends to market their systems until after 2027, which doesn't mean they won't release intermediate models before bringing PS6 and the future Xbox to stores.

Not before the end of 2028

Sony argues that Microsoft offered it a deal to keep Call of Duty on its consoles until 2027. According to the document submitted to the UK's Competition and Markets Authority, the Japanese think they risk losing access to Activision Blizzard's saga and the company's other video games:

"By the time SIE launched the next generation of its PlayStation console (which is likely to occur around [REDACTED]), it would have lost access to Call of Duty and other Activision titles, making it extremely vulnerable to consumer switching and subsequent degradation in its competitiveness."

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In the same vein, Microsoft has estimated that the launch window for the new generation will be similar in both cases: "The next new generation of consoles are not expected to be released before the fall of 2028 at the very earliest."

Since the acquisition deal became public, Sony Interactive Entertainment has been trying its best to get regulatory bodies to prevent the deal from going through. At the same time, Microsoft has counter-argued these positions and stated that Call of Duty will continue on PlayStation for as long as gamers want it.

Phil Spencer, head of the division, has described the idea of a perpetual agreement as "stupid", although he has confirmed that the next titles in the series will be released natively on PS5.

Sources | VGC, UK’s CMA