PS5 Release Date: Sony's PlayStation 5 Will Probably Launch In 2019, Analyst Says

Sony has already confirmed it is developing the PlayStation 5, and now an analyst predicts the PS5 will have a 2019 release date. Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter also says the PS5 will be backwards compatible with the PlayStation 4 and will be capable of native 4K gaming.

“My expectation that is that it’s not coming out in 2018. That is a 2019 or 2020, but probably 2019,” Pachter told GamingBolt. “Sony is probably timing it better because they are going to bring out a 4K capable device when the 4K TV market reaches 50% in the USA and 35% in the rest of the world.I think Sony has probably got the next console cycle nailed down already. I think, they already know what they got to do.”

As for the capabilities of the PlayStation 5, Pachter believes it will be another half step forwards from the capabilities of the PS4 Pro. For him, that means that the PS5 will “surely” support native 4K gaming, possibly at 240 frames-per-second.

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He also went on to say he believes the PS5 will be backwards compatible with the PS4 Pro. If that’s the case, then the PS5 should also be backwards compatible with base PS4 games.

“Will it play games that were made for the PlayStation 4 PRO? That’s the question. I think it will,” Pachter said. “So I think they will build a console that will backwards compatible with the PS4 Pro. So I think it will be perceived by the consumers to be a half step and I think Shawn [Layden] is telling the truth when he says it will be a full fledged console.”

Layden is the CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment America and is the head of PlayStation. Layden confirmed a couple of weeks ago that Sony is developing the PlayStation 5, but stated that “it will probably be some time.” That was the first time that anyone from Sony confirmed the PS5 was in the works.

Pachter’s prediction of a 2019 launch seems pretty believable, since the PlayStation 4 Pro hasn’t reached its maturity yet. However, analyst Damian Thong predicted back in April that Sony might actually launch the PS5 during the second half of 2018.

Thong’s prediction for the PS5 launch was given much attention since he also accurately predicted the launch of the PS4 Slim and the PS4 Pro last year. But looking at the current success of Sony’s PS4 and PS4 Pro, it does look like a 2019 launch is bit more realistic.

READ: Sony Confirms PlayStation 5 Plans, But It Will Take ‘Some Time’ Before It's Revealed

As for the PlayStation 5’s backwards compatibility with PS4 games, it seems like Sony’s not going the same route as Microsoft. Microsoft believes that the Xbox One X will mark the end of console generations, and that all future consoles will be cross-compatible.

Sony’s strategy seems a bit more conservative. Instead of making everything compatible with one another, it looks like Sony only wants the PS4 and the PS5 to work together side by side.