It's a bit of a whirlwind right now in terms of next-gen news, isn't it? We've heard directly from AMD that the next Xbox is "progressing well" to release in 2027, while other reports have suggested that component shortages and price increases could delay next-gen consoles into 2028 or even later. Today, Bloomberg adds fuel to that fire by suggesting that Sony is already considering pushing back its PS6 launch to "2028 or even 2029" - throwing next-gen timing across the board into doubt.
Yep, a new report from the tech outlet goes into detail on AI and the issues its causing for computer components right now. The article is paywalled, but The Verge's Tom Warren has shared an interesting section of it that mentions Sony, Nintendo and their future console plans. We'll share that snippet from the report down below:
Of course, this doesn't mention Xbox or Microsoft directly, but all of these companies are in the same boat in terms of component shortages and rising prices. It stands to reason that if Sony and Nintendo are thinking of changing plans due to all of this, Microsoft could be thinking of taking a similar path - although none of that is confirmed at this time.
Having said that, Team Green's approach to next-gen might actually help them here. We've heard pretty consistently that the next Xbox won't be a traditional console coming in at a lower price point; with other third-party manufacturers potentially taking point in terms of building some of the actual hardware too - like the Asus ROG Xbox Ally. Could this rumoured plan to move away from more mass-market console gaming help Microsoft here?
We can only wait and see what happens, but more and more reports are starting to flood in suggesting that 2027 could be a rather ambitious timeline for next-gen hardware. Bloomberg's Jason Schreier even suggests that releasing next year would be a "disaster" for everyone involved!