PS5: Fake images swirl around the internet as gamers look for hints of new Sony console

Rumours suggest that new release is on its way – but not for some time

People wander in front of the Playstation posters at the 24th Electronic Expo, or E3 2018, in Los Angeles, California on June 12, 2018, where hardware manufacturers, software developers and the video game industry present their new games (FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images)

Images of what is claimed to be a new PlayStation 5 are circulating around the internet.

But the images appear to be entirely fake and don't actually show anything of the sort.

The pictures look very convincing: they show a console that looks a little like a smarter version of the PlayStation 4, and even appear to show it starting up. They also came from a reputable Russian leaks site, which has shown off genuine early versions of gadgets in the past.

But the site that initially made them available appears to have suggested they are fake, and there is no reason to think that any PlayStation 5 console is actually available yet.

That has not stopped enterprising designers seizing on the images and mocking up images of what they might look like if they were real. Those, in turn, have been shared by a number of outlets as images of the PS5 – but, again, they are simply very convincing and well designed mock-ups of what the next console might look like, not genuine pictures.

Sony has confirmed that it is working on a new console, though it refused to commit even to the name PlayStation 5. In an interview with the Financial Times, Sony president Kenichiro Yoshida would not commit to a release date or any further details about the hardware.

The company has also referred to the PlayStation 4 as being in the "final phase" of its life. That is not thought to suggest that the console is dying or that it is losing any features – but that it is mature, and has developed.

Sony did however suggest that it is preparing for the "next step", in comments that some read as suggesting a new console could arrive in 2021.