The PS5/Xbox Series generation may be short, but it isn’t awful

The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series consoles will be replaced in just a few short years. As graphics technology has rapidly advanced since the consoles’ release, we’re only around four years away from a PS6 and Xbox-whatever making their way to market.

With PS5 exclusive releases calming down and Sony announcing the console is entering the “latter” half of its life, 2028 will likely be the release of the PlayStation 6.

For many, it feels like this generation of consoles has only just started. Until recently, most AAA game releases were still being released cross-gen, targeting PS4 and Xbox One with spruced up versions on the new machines. In fact, that’s still happening — the insanely popular Palworld is an Xbox One game and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 launched across both generations. In fact, the upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops sequel will likely still be cross-gen.

This cross-gen release also related to platform exclusives. While the PS5 launched with Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart and Demon’s Souls, later releases including Horizon: Forbidden West and God of War: Ragnarok were playable on PlayStation 4 and still looked fantastic. The console’s latest exclusive, The Last of Us: Part 2 Remastered is a barely improved port of a PS4 game anyway.

Xbox’s side hasn’t been much better. Halo Infinite is still the biggest Series X exclusive, and it launched on Xbox One. In terms of Microsoft’s console, the generation has barely started. Outside of Microsoft Flight Simulator and Hi-Fi Rush, Xbox has the abysmal Redfall and the underwhelming Starfield. With how much power the Series X has to offer, it feels wasted.

However, the PS5 and Xbox Series hasn’t been a complete waste, and there’s still a lot of amazing games coming for the systems that genuinely weren’t possible on last-gen machines.

For example, PS5 launched with Demon’s Souls, a stunning remake of an aged PS3 classic, and Bluepoint’s remaster still looks better than most new games today. PlayStation also has Returnal, a gorgeous bullet hell game that definitely would’ve pushed the PS4’s jet-engine fans into a fiery rage.

Outside of exclusives, of which there are genuinely few, the current generation of gaming has some fantastic third-party support that has resulted in some of my favourite games that have ever been released

For starters, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is one of the standout games of the generation, pushing not just graphical fidelity to the absolute max but also vastly overhauling what a AAA game could be. It felt like a return to the PS2’s focus on pure gameplay while retaining the narrative strengths of modern gameplay, all while providing the best Star Wars story in ages.

Then there’s Deathloop, an amazing Arkane FPS that took what was brilliant about Dishonored and took it to the next level. It’s not the best looking game of the generation, but it is clearly a step above last-gen titles. While it may have been possible to crunch the game down onto PS4 and Xbox One, something would’ve had to give, and Deathloop is better for its current-gen exclusivity.

While Starfield may be underwhelming, it’s also a weirdly engaging game. Once you accept its focus on New Game Plus and not finishing everything in one save file, Starfield opens up into a brilliant but troubled RPG. Maybe when Starfield DLC releases we can actually make it one of the best RPGs ever. (It won’t be as good as Morrowind, though.)

Finally, there’s Baldur’s Gate 3, a game that truly does everything possible to give players the time of their lives. With its deep physics interactions hammering the CPU and its truly stunning visuals, Baldur’s Gate 3 even causes the current gen consoles to struggle. My old base Xbox One would’ve screamed and turned to dust attempting to run the game’s main menu.

Of course, there’s also the new games to come, titles that can finally take full advantage of the PS5 and Xbox Series consoles until the new systems come around. On Microsoft’s side we have the stunning Avowed by Obsidian as well as Indiana Jones, Marvel’s Blade, Fable, Hellblade 2, Perfect Dark and more. Elder Scrolls 6 may even release this gen. For PS5, Stellar Blade, Rise of the Ronin, Marvel’s Wolverine, Until Dawn’s Remake and more are coming.

Then there’s the third party games including the eye-wateringly beautiful Star Wars Outlaws, GTA 6, Kingdom Hearts 4, Project 007 and many more. While this generation may end up being shorter than previous ones, there will still be a huge amount of amazing games at the end of it.

There’s also the fact that the release of new consoles doesn’t equal the end of the current ones. Xbox Series and PS5 will survive for at least a couple years after their successors. Remember: the PlayStation 2’s last game released in 2013, 13 years after it was released.

It may seem like doom and gloom hearing plans for the successors of your still-new machines, but there’s life in the old boxes yet. The PS5 and Xbox Series consoles are great machines, and will be for years to come.