PlayStation 4 Games To Be Fully Phased Out By 2025, Says Sony

In a world where it still feels like most people can’t get their hands on a PS5 at all (going on for two years after its release, at that), many of us have been relying quite heavily on PlayStation’s cross-gen releases to ensure that, y’know, we can actually play the games that are coming out.

Up to now, the vast majority of new PlayStation games have continued releasing on the PS4 as well as the chunky new-gen console (with a few exceptions, including Returnal, Demon’s Souls and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart), but it looks like things could be set to change. As reported by IGN, Sony have recently revealed that they plan to be completely done with PS4 releases by 2025.

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is one of just a few titles that only released on the PS5 - check out the trailer below.

The news was revealed in Sony’s latest investor presentation, in which a slide titled the “evolving shape of first-party portfolio” was shown, detailing the percentage breakdown of “releases by platform” over time. While the 2022 graph shows an equal split of PS4 and PS4 releases, 2025’s projection eradicates all semblance of the PS4, with an increased amount of releases on PS5, mobile and PC in its place. 

As concerning as this might first appear, it’s also not too surprising - the PS4 will celebrate its 10th anniversary next year, so it’s really getting pretty old as far as consoles are concerned. One of the presentation slides also said that PS5 supply issues are “a top priority”, and that it’s expected that by the console’s third year and beyond, it’ll close the gap and then overtake the PS4’s sales. So, it seems that Sony are confident that getting our hands on their new-gen console won’t be an issue for much longer. 

It’s also interesting to see the projected increase in releases on the PC - earlier this week, there were reports that PlayStation Network integration is on the way to the platform, which already strongly suggested that more games could be on the way there. We’ll just have to watch this space.