We’re half a decade into the PlayStation 5 era and the console is packed with must-play games from just about every genre, with many more to come. And while we’re still working through our backlog, I’m looking forward to what we might play on the PlayStation 6 when it launches.
Sony’s next-gen console will likely be an absolute powerhouse when it launches, possibly 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 history that we can fill with some last-gen games on the new console, Sony is happy to drop something big to usher in a new generation.
Here are my predictions, with the caveat (of course) that nothing is guaranteed. And since GTA 6 is due out next year, I’m ignoring the inevitable PS6 port.
Gran Turismo 8
Potential console buyers often look for a slick, car-based racing game to showcase improved visual fidelity. Just look at the consoles that have come out 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.
However, despite the craving for shiny cars, we haven’t had a Gran Turismo game launch with a PlayStation console yet. But is this the generation after MotorStorm and Driveclub are gone?
Gran Turismo 7 was released in 2022, marking the series’ debut on PS5. The series continues to receive new content through DLC improvements. And yet, other than a Hollywood adaptation and a pseudo-demo of the game titled My First Gran Turismo, there have been no rumors of another game in the series.
Given the five years between Gran Turismo Sport and GT 7, is there any chance the franchise will come back into view in 2027? After all, no one pays as much attention to detail as Polyphony Digital.
Call of Duty and Battlefield
It’s hard to believe that you have to go back to 2013 to find a year where both shooting juggernauts were part of the same starting lineup.
In truth, it was hardly vintage for either: Call of Duty: Ghosts failed and Activision never returned to its story or characters in any meaningful way, while Battlefield 4 was a fantastic game that launched in abysmal condition.
Still, things have certainly changed in recent years: Battlefield 1 gave way to Battlefield V and then the much-maligned (but not as bad as everyone says) Battlefield 2042.
Meanwhile, Call of Duty alternated between jetpacks, World War II, space, a Modern Warfare trilogy, and several new Black Ops installments.
At the time of writing, one could argue that EA’s Battlefield 6 has finally stepped out of the shadow of its long-time rival, as players are divided over Black Ops 7’s multiplayer campaign. Still, it seems unlikely that Battlefield could become an annual franchise, but two years between releases could put a theoretical Battlefield 7 on the PS6 in its launch window.
On the other hand, Call of Duty simply doesn’t miss a year. Regardless of whether the PS6 releases in 2026, 2027, or 2050, you can bet that Call of Duty will be available.
A new Horizon game
Horizon started life on the PlayStation 4 as Guerrilla Games ditched the drab-and-brown Killzone series in favor of something entirely more colorful, and fans seem to have taken to it.
Sony’s AAA third-person action-adventure is lending its Decima engine to other titles, and while there will always be some who want Killzone to return, that seems unlikely when Horizon is slated for a Hollywood movie, a LEGO crossover game, and even an MMO (which, oddly enough, is for PC and mobile).
So would PS5 get Horizon 3? With Forbidden West set to release in 2022, another main installment would make sense, but leaked footage has shown a potential multiplayer title that doesn’t appear to be related to the MMO project.
Could PS6 launch with a Monster Hunter-like multiplayer game where you hunt giant metal monsters to make new weapons and armor from their parts? It would be a compelling loop, as Capcom’s series demonstrates, and I’d argue that Horizon’s combat is already a fantastic starting point.
Here is hope.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 3 or Ratchet and Clank
Insomniac Games enjoys an incredible “purple flag” in sports terms. The studio behind Spyro, Resistance and Sunset Overdrive seems happy to balance its new Marvel universe with the action-packed platforming of Ratchet and Clank, and while we haven’t had a new installment in the latter series since 2021’s excellent Rift Apart, Insomniac’s Wolverine game will be its first release since Spider-Man 2 in 2023.
Could we get back-to-back releases in 2026 and 2027? It’s not out of the question. Finally, the studio released Spider-Man in 2018, then remastered it and released the standalone title Miles Morales in 2020 and Rift Apart in 2021.
That kind of rhythm can’t be easy to maintain, especially given the potential for new hardware, but Insomniac is always on the cutting edge of Sony’s technology, as demonstrated by its efforts on the PS4 Pro, PS5 and PS5 Pro.
The question isn’t necessarily whether they’ll perform, but rather what the studio will show.
Bloodborne remake
It’s the thing about dreams, isn’t it? Bloodborne was released as a PS4 exclusive in 2015 after Sony blocked publishing rights to FromSoftware’s Dark Souls games, but it hasn’t been seen since.
The game didn’t receive a PS4 Pro port, and while FromSoftware moved on to games like Dark Souls III, Sekiro: Shadow Dies Twice, and the cross-generation Elden Ring, fans are still demanding more Bloodborne.
Before the PlayStation 5’s full reveal, there were rumors that Bluepoint Games, the Sony-owned studio that has worked on remasters 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, rumored to be Bloodborne.
While that studio has since confirmed that it is working on something original, it has 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 it a sequel, a PC port or a remake.
Would Bloodborne Remake be a PS6 system seller? It’s hard to say, but considering how damn good the Demon’s Souls Remake looked on the PS5 at launch, it’s certainly going to be impressive.
And while the PS6 might be an expensive piece of hardware when it launches, my colleague Jesse made a compelling argument for why you should buy the PS6 anyway.
