A 2027 release date for the PS6 is looking more and more likely following the latest PlayStation sales figures.

Not only are PlayStation hardware sales down, but PS5 Pro sales have also started to drop off after a strong launch period.

The alarming stats suggest Sony may need to hurry along the release of the PS6, which according to some reports, could launch as early as 2027.

In a series of posts on Bluesky, industry analyst Mat Piscatella confirmed that PS5 Pro sales are tracking below that of the PS4 Pro during the same period on sale.

"January video game hardware spending dropped 45% when compared to a year ago, to $205 million," Piscatella posted. "This is the lowest January total for video game hardware spending since the $131 million reached in January 2020.

"Double-digit percentage declines compared to a year ago were seen across all major console platforms. PlayStation 5 hardware spending dipped by 38% year-on-year, with Xbox Series declining by 50% and Switch 53%."

Asked specifically about PS5 Pro sales compared to sales of the PS4 Pro after three months, Piscatella replied: "PS5 Pro has fallen behind PS4 Pro's pace.

"Digital SKUs accounted for 49% of PS5 HW units in Jan and 88% of XBS units."

The PS5 Pro was initially said to be selling well, despite the hefty £699 price tag.

A big upgrade over the original PS5, the PS5 Pro makes a variety of improvements to visuals and performance.

The PS5 Pro console comes with Sony's excellent DualSense controller, as well as a copy of Astro's Playroom built-in to the device.

While the improvements to visuals and performance are the headline features, it's worth remembering that the PS5 Pro also comes with a 2TB solid-state drive, which is twice the storage of the original PS5 at launch. 

With games like Call of Duty potentially taking up a few hundred gigabytes of storage space, the bigger SSD is arguably worth the price alone. 

Of course, it's the improved specs that really makes the PS5 Pro worth purchasing, especially if you're sick of choosing between graphics and performance.