Your PS5 is fine. Genuinely, unremarkably fine, and it’s going to stay that way for years.
That’s worth saying up front, because PS6 chatter is getting loud even though the console is probably still a few years out. And the mood around it isn’t exactly optimistic. The global component crisis and general economic messiness have pushed the price of nearly all gaming hardware up, Sony‘s own machines included, so there’s a very real chance the PS6 lands at a price that puts it out of reach. It may also be discless.
Which raises the obvious question for anyone who’d rather not remortgage for a games console: how long can you cling to the machine you’ve already got?
Sony has already shown you the answer
Look at the PS4. It launched in 2013 and it still gets firmware updates, the most recent one shipping just last month. That patch was little more than a few security fixes, sure. But a 13-year-old console still being worth Sony’s time at all is a good sign for the PS5.
The PS4 also works exactly as well as it did when the PS5 replaced it in 2020. There were unconfirmed reports last year that some of the console’s features would be sunsetted in 2026, and even so, you can switch on a PS4 today and it’ll run perfectly.
Generational handovers always come with software overlap for at least the first few years of the new machine’s life. That’s been true since the original PlayStation, with a number of PS1 titles still launching well into the PS2’s run, and it’s held for every Sony console since.
Last-gen isn’t dead, but 2026 is the twilight
The PS4 keeps getting new games. The AAA side moved on a while back, but Fortnite and Roblox still thrive there, and newly released indie games regularly show up on PS4 either at launch or shortly after.
The nudges toward newer hardware are coming, though. Call of Duty: Warzone is being shut down on PS4 and Xbox One later this year, and 2026 has the feel of a final twilight year for last-gen machines. Sony has published a few games on the PS4 since, but the last notable first-party release was probably 2022’s God of War: Ragnarok, the final big cross-generation title.
The PS6 might not even get the games first
Predicting Sony right now is difficult, mostly because its first-party output has dropped off a cliff this generation. Longer development times and much higher AAA budgets mean we haven’t had a single brand new game from Naughty Dog since the PS5 launched. At this rate it wouldn’t be a huge shock if Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet skipped the current generation entirely.
The likelier scenario is the boring one. The PS5 is popular, so Sony keeps supporting it the way it has supported every console before it, and that support stretches longer if the PS6 really does arrive at the obscene price some fear.
Just don’t expect cross-generation releases on a disk. Sony is ending support for physical games in 2027.
What actually kills a console
Software support is only half of it. The other half is the box itself, and here the outlook is even better. Millions of retro enthusiasts still play original PlayStation hardware on a crusty old CRT. Your PS5 has every reason to survive well into the PS6 generation and beyond.
Dust is the enemy. Clean the vents and ports regularly so a blockage isn’t strangling airflow, and keep the console somewhere it can breathe. Overheating causes long-term damage if it keeps happening. The PS5 has built-in safety mechanisms and will shut itself off when it gets too hot, which is a warning, not a solution. If that’s happening often, move it somewhere more open.
The parts that give out first
HDMI ports wear down if you’re constantly plugging and unplugging cables. Disc drives go too, if yours has one, and you’ll usually hear that problem before you see it. Discs might not go in at all. Or, worse, the console decides to keep them. Sony has a dedicated troubleshooting page for disc-reading issues and offers repairs. If you’ve got a discless PS5 with an external drive attached and that dies, you just swap it out.
A console that won’t turn on, or one that shuts itself down mid-game, usually points to the power supply unit, which can eventually fail. Before you go hunting for local repair shops, check that everything is seated properly and unplug and replug the whole lot.
Plenty else can go wrong across a console’s life, including the accidental drop or two. Take reasonable care of the thing and it’ll outlast your interest in whatever Sony charges for the next one.
