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We’re half a decade into the PlayStation 5 era, and the console is packed with must-play games across just about any genre, with many more to come. And, while we’re still working through our backlog, I’m looking ahead to just what we could be playing on the PlayStation 6 when it launches.
Sony’s next-generation console is likely to be an absolute powerhouse when it potentially arrives in 2027, but that means little if we’re still playing our PlayStation 5 games on it. And, while there will always be gaps in our gaming histories that we can fill with some last-gen games on the new console, Sony likes to drop something big to kick off a new generation.
Here are my predictions, with the caveat (naturally) that nothing is guaranteed. And, since GTA 6 should be here next year, I’m discounting the inevitable PS6 port.
Gran Turismo 8
Prospective console buyers often look to a slick, car-based racing game to help showcase the improved visual fidelity on offer. Just look at the consoles that have launched with racing games; there was the Xbox 360 with Project Gotham Racing 3, PS3 had MotorStorm, Xbox One had Forza Motorsport 5, and PS4 had Driveclub.
Despite the lust for shiny cars, though, we’ve not had a Gran Turismo game launch with a PlayStation console. Still, with MotorStorm and Driveclub gone, is this the generation?
Gran Turismo 7 launched in 2022, marking the series’ debut on PS5, and it’s continued to get fresh content through DLC improvements. And yet, outside of a Hollywood adaptation and a pseudo demo of the game dubbed My First Gran Turismo, there have been no rumblings of another game in the franchise.
With five years between Gran Turismo Sport and GT 7, is there a chance that 2027 sees the franchise screech back into view? After all, no one pays attention to detail like Polyphony Digital.
Call of Duty and Battlefield
It’s hard to believe you have to go back to 2013 to find a year where both shooter juggernauts were part of the same launch lineup.
In truth, it was hardly a vintage year for either: Call of Duty: Ghosts fell flat and Activision never returned to its story or characters in any meaningful way, while Battlefield 4 was a fantastic game that launched in an abysmal state.
Still, things have certainly changed in the years since, with Battlefield 1 giving way to Battlefield V and then the much-maligned (but not as bad as everyone says) Battlefield 2042.
Meanwhile, Call of Duty jumped between jetpacks, WWII, outer space, a Modern Warfare trilogy, and multiple new Black Ops instalments since.
As of the time of writing, it could be argued that EA’s Battlefield 6 has finally stepped out from its longtime rival’s shadow, with players split on Black Ops 7’s multiplayer campaign. Still, it seems unlikely Battlefield could become an annual franchise, but two years of space between releases could put a theoretical Battlefield 7 on the PS6 in its launch window.
On the other hand, Call of Duty simply does not miss a year. Whether PS6 comes out in 2026, 2027, or 2050, you can bet your bottom dollar that Call of Duty will be there.
A new Horizon game
Horizon started life on PlayStation 4 as Guerilla Games sidestepped its gray and brown Killzone series for something altogether more colorful, and fans appear to have taken it into their hearts.
Sony’s AAA third-person action-adventure lends its Decima engine to other titles, and while there will always be some that want a return for Killzone, that seems unlikely when Horizon is slated for a Hollywood movie, has a LEGO crossover game, and even an MMO (which, curiously, is for PC and mobile).
So would PS5 get Horizon 3? Another mainline instalment would make sense given Forbidden West launched in 2022, but leaked footage has shown a potential multiplayer title that doesn’t appear to be linked to the MMO project.
Could PS6 launch with a Monster Hunter-esque multiplayer game, which has you hunting huge metal monsters for their parts to turn into new weapons and armor? It would be a compelling loop, as shown by Capcom’s series, and I’d argue Horizon’s combat is already a fantastic starting point.
Here’s hoping.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 3 or Ratchet and Clank
Insomniac Games is, in sporting terms, enjoying an unbelievable ‘purple patch’. The studio behind Spyro, Resistance, and Sunset Overdrive is seemingly happy to balance its new Marvel Universe with the action-heavy platforming of Ratchet and Clank, and while we’ve not had a new instalment in the latter series since 2021’s excellent Rift Apart, Insomniac’s Wolverine game will mark its first release since Spider-Man 2 in 2023.
Could we get consecutive releases in 2026 and 2027? It’s not out of the question. After all, the studio released Spider-Man in 2018, then remastered it and released the standalone Miles Morales title in 2020, and also put out Rift Apart in 2021.
That kind of cadence can’t be easy to maintain, especially with the potential for new hardware, but Insomniac is always on the bleeding edge of Sony’s tech, as seen from its efforts on the PS4 Pro, PS5, and PS5 Pro.
The question isn’t necessarily whether they’ll make an appearance, but what the studio will show.
Bloodborne Remake
It’s the thing of dreams, isn’t it? Bloodborne launched in 2015 as a PS4 exclusive after Sony fumbled locking down publishing rights to FromSoftware’s Dark Souls games, but it’s not been seen since.
The game didn’t get a PS4 Pro port, and while FromSoftware moved on to the likes of Dark Souls III, Sekiro: Shadow Dies Twice, and the generational Elden Ring, fans are still asking for more Bloodborne.
Ahead of the PlayStation 5’s full reveal, rumors suggested Bluepoint Games, the Sony-owned studio that’s worked on remasters of the likes of Uncharted and remakes of Shadow of the Colossus and FromSoftware’s Demon’s Souls (the latter being a PS5 launch title), was working on another project that was rumored to be Bloodborne.
While that studio has since affirmed it’s working on something original, it’s been five years since Demon’s Souls, and Sony would have to have its proverbial fingers in its ears not to hear the cries for Bloodborne – be that a sequel, a PC port, or a Remake.
Would Bloodborne Remake be a PS6 system seller? It’s hard to say, but given how dang good the Demon’s Souls Remake looked on the PS5 at launch, it’ll certainly be impressive.
And while the PS6 could be a pricey piece of hardware when it does eventually launch, my colleague Jesse has made a convincing argument as to why you should buy the PS6 anyway.
