PlayStation 5 is Going to Be an Absolute Beast

We’re still at least a year away from the official announcement of Sony’s next-generation gaming console. But, in an exclusive interview with Wired published on Tuesday morning, Mark Cerny—the lead system architect of the PlayStation 4—discussed the work he’s been doing for the last several years, preparing Sony’s forthcoming PS4 replacement machine.

Cerny wouldn’t go on record calling the machine the PlayStation 5, but naming conventions aside, the system is shaping up to be an incredibly powerful device. As with any next-gen console, the jump from the current PS4 to whatever comes next is going to be all about improved graphical experiences that are driven by upgraded CPUs and GPUs. That also leads to increased memory size, improved speed performance, and, in turn, larger game files. The next-gen PlayStation console will have all of that, with the CPU being based on the third generation of AMD’s Ryzen line, as Wired details. In addition, we can expect 8K graphics support and backwards compatibility—at least for PS4 titles.

But what stood out from the interview, and what Cerny makes a point to highlight, are two key upgrades over the current-gen console: improved audio performance, and the possibility of a solid state drive being added to the console.