With a PS6 release on the horizon, some are wondering if their PS5 is about to become obsolete.
We’re at the point in the PlayStation 5’s life cycle where talk of the PS6 is starting to ramp up, even if it’s likely still a few years away. But with the global component crisis and general economic messiness cranking up the price of pretty much all gaming hardware now (including Sony’s own machines), there’s a very good chance of the PS6 being prohibitively expensive. It may also be discless, which might give PS5 owners serious pause for thought about whether they even want to upgrade when the time comes.
If you’re worried about being priced out of the next generation of PlayStation, you’d be forgiven for sweating your PS5’s well-being. How long can you realistically hope to cling onto your current console before either reluctantly making the jump to PS6, moving over to PC or another platform, or just ditching gaming altogether?
Luckily, such monumental decisions shouldn’t be troubling you any time soon. Here’s how long you can expect the PlayStation 5 to last.
When will Sony stop supporting the PS5?
The best way to answer this question is to look at the precedent Sony has already set. The PS4 originally launched in 2013, and to this day the console still semi-regularly receives firmware updates, with the most recent patch rolling out just last month.
Granted, it amounted to little more than a few security fixes, but the fact that Sony still considers a 13-year-old console worth bothering about at all bodes well for the PS5. The PS4 also still functions just as well as it did when the PS5 replaced it in 2020, and despite unconfirmed reports last year that some of the console’s features would be sunsetted in 2026, you can turn on a PS4 today and expect it to work perfectly.
A new console generation replacing an old one almost always involves considerable software overlap for at least the first few years of the newer console’s life. In Sony’s case, this has been true since the very first PlayStation, with a number of PS1 titles still launching well into the PS2’s life, and it’s been the same story with every subsequent console the company has released.
Even today, the PS4 is still getting plenty of new games, even if the AAA side of things moved on a while ago. Incredibly popular games like Fortnite and Roblox still thrive on the last-gen Sony console, and it’s not unusual to see newly released indie games popping up on PS4 either at launch or a little while after.
Nothing lasts forever, though, and at some point those last remaining clingers-on will get a big old nudge towards newer hardware. Call of Duty: Warzone is being shut down on PS4 and Xbox One later this year, and it does feel like 2026 is something of a final twilight year for last-gen machines. And while it has published a few games on the PS4, the last notable first-party release on the console from Sony was probably 2022’s God of War: Ragnarok, which was the final big cross-generation game.
So what does this all mean for the PS5 and eventual PS6? It’s hard to predict Sony right now, as its first-party releases have dramatically decreased this generation. The longer development times and significantly higher cost of developing AAA games mean we haven’t had a single brand new game from Naughty Dog since the PS5 launched, and at this rate it wouldn’t be a huge shock if Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet skipped the current generation altogether.
In all likelihood, the popularity of the PS5 means Sony will continue to support it in the same way it has done with all of its previous consoles, especially if the PS6 is as obscenely priced as some fear it could be. Just don’t expect any cross-generation releases to come on a disk, as Sony is ending support for physical games in 2027.
Should I be worried about my PS5 breaking?
Aside from software support, the other big thing to think about as far as the longevity of the PS5 is concerned is the hardware itself, specifically how long it will last you. Considering that millions of people with an interest in retro gaming still play their original PlayStation consoles on a crusty old CRT, there’s every reason to hope your PS5 will survive well into the PS6 generation and beyond.
But things can of course go wrong. Dust is a constant thorn in the side of any console, and you should try to regularly clean the vents and ports to ensure that a blockage isn’t preventing good airflow. Keeping your console well ventilated is also essential to ensuring it doesn’t overheat, which can cause long-term damage if it happens regularly.
Excessive heat is the enemy of all electronics, and the more you prevent it, the longer your PS5 will keep working as it should. Luckily, the console has built-in safety mechanisms and will automatically turn itself off if it gets too hot. Consider moving it somewhere more open if this is happening a lot.
Other things can become faulty over time, such as HDMI ports (if you’re constantly plugging and unplugging cables) and the disc drive (if your PS5 has one). In the case of the latter, you’ll likely hear the problem before you see it when you try to load up a disc. You might not be able to insert discs at all, or even worse, the console might refuse to return them to you. Sony has a dedicated troubleshooting page for disc-reading issues, and it does offer repairs. If you have a discless PS5 and have added on an external disc drive that breaks, you can easily just swap out the defective one.
If your PS5 is failing to turn on or keeps turning itself off mid-game, the problem likely lies with the power supply unit (PSU), which can eventually fail. If this is happening frequently, you should first make sure everything is properly inserted, and always try unplugging everything and plugging it back in before you start searching for local repair options.
There are numerous other problems your PS5 might encounter in its life, not least of which would be an accidental drop or two along the way, but as long as you take good care of it, it should last you a very long time.
