PlayStation 5: 9 Biggest Rumours About Sony's Next Console

Iterative hardware refreshes seem to be all the rage in the games industry, but make no mistake, console generations as we know them aren't about to become a thing of the past.

Case in point: Sony Interactive Entertainment America CEO Shawn Layden dropped a bombshell in a recent interview when he confirmed the existence of the PlayStatation 5.

Although the studio executive gave nothing of any real substance away, our first official mention of the PS5 is enough to send any gamer's imagination running wild, kicking the rumour mill into overdrive.

The next-generation system probably exists in early prototype form, locked in the depths of an underground laboratory, destined to withhold its secrets until a time when Sony sees fit... or a massive leak springs.

There's plenty of life in the PS4 yet, not least because its Pro iteration added 4K support into the mix last year, though that won't stop PlayStation loyalists from endlessly speculating about the PS5's capabilities and features.

According to Layden, the next-gen machine "will probably take some time" to surface from the depths of whatever top-secret facility it's currently housed, but the juicy rumours continue to fly...

The entertainment industry is only just getting used to that fact that displays of anything less than 4K are destined for the scrap heap in the not-too-distant future, but the PS5 could up the graphical ante even further.

Rumour emporium PS5 Home is tipping Sony's next system to pack retina-melting 8K capabilities, which isn't a stretch since console wars are a numbers game.

In the past, it was the amount of 'bits' which doubled with every new generation, but since the industry no longer cares about these, it makes sense for the next wave of machines to double up on something like screen resolution.

So what does the prospect of an 8K PS5 actually mean, besides the fact that you're going to have to spend squillions on a new telly?

Well, this resolution boasts 16 times as many pixels as Full HD, despite falling under the same UHD bracket as 4K, albeit it at the very pinnacle of the spectrum.

Native 8K content is gradually trickling in, but whether the PS5 can take full advantage of it will depend on how many compatible games are available by the time it arrives.