It sounds as if Sony has no intention of abandoning Virtual Reality as PlayStation moves into the next generation of console hardware, as a new report has uncovered potential plans for a new headset.
Sony already confirmed that the next PlayStation would work with the current PSVR hardware, but a recent string of patent leaks could give us some indication of what to expect from the PlayStation 5’s very-own VR headset.
Inverse reports that the newly surfaced patents and trademarks filed by Sony reveal juicy details and prototype pictures of the next-gen PSVR headset. Among other things, it will cost $250 in the US, run wirelessly with up to five hours of battery life, and feature head tracking technology. It also looks like Sony is gunning for a 560-by-1,440 resolution, a 120-hertz refresh rate, and a 220-degree field of view.
Earlier in the year, another leaked patented suggested that Sony is looking into developing a VR glove with haptic feedback, which would provide a much more immersive experience then simply using the Move controllers, especially when paired with a headset that can track head and eye movements.
All in all, it sounds like a very… next-gen piece of gear, but do remember that just because a company has filed a patent on something, it doesn’t automatically mean it’s a confirmed product. I’d be surprised if Sony didn’t continue to push VR in a big way though, given the company’s clear commitment to it.
The PlayStation 4’s VR headset is a genuinely cool bit of kit, even if it didn’t take off in quite the way Sony had hoped it would. A lack of any must-own games at launch for the attachment probably hurt its chances of success, but we’ve since had some pretty awesome titles in the form of Tetris Effect, Superhot VR, and Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown.
Sony continues to pledge support to the platform too, with an Iron Man game and virtual reality version of No Man’s Sky both on the horizon. As such, I’m excited to see where the company takes PSVR when the PlayStation 5 finally rolls around.
We’ve no idea exactly when we’ll be seeing the PS5 yet, but we do know that it’ll feature ray tracing for more immersive audios and visual, and a solid-state drive (SSD) that helps drastically reduce loading times.
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Ewan Moore is a journalist at UNILAD Gaming who still quite hasn’t gotten out of his mid 00’s emo phase. After graduating from the University of Portsmouth in 2015 with a BA in Journalism & Media Studies (thanks for asking), he went on to do some freelance words for various places, including Kotaku, Den of Geek, and TheSixthAxis, before landing a full time gig at UNILAD in 2016.