Ninth generation of video game consoles

The PlayStation 5 was developed by Sony as the successor to the PlayStation 4 and was first released on November 12, 2020.[19] The primary goal of the PlayStation 5's development was to reduce loading times in games, particularly those that use in-game streaming such as when the player moves across an open world. Sony developed a custom solid-state drive (SSD) architecture based on a 12-channel, 825 GB SSD along with a fast software decompression method that enables an input/output speed of up to 8 to 9 GB/s. In most early development tests, this virtually eliminated loading screens and masking loading times for open world games.[20] The main system is backed by an AMD Zen 2 system on a chip running at a variable frequency capped at 3.5 GHz, and a RDNA 2 GPU also running at a variable frequency capped at 2.23 GHz. The GPU has a total potential processing power of 10.28 teraflops. The system comes with 16 GB of memory.[21]

The PlayStation 5 was launched with two models. The base model includes an optical disc reader for most disc formats including Blu-ray, UHD Blu-ray, and retail PlayStation 5 games. A cheaper Digital model lacks the disc reader, but otherwise is equivalent to the base model. Both models support expanded memory options to store games and other data onto external drives, thus allowing players to obtain and store games through online distribution via the PlayStation Store. The PlayStation 5 has mostly complete backward compatibility with PlayStation 4 games, with only a limited number of games not currently supported on the console,[22] while the PlayStation Now cloud service is available for users to play games from the older PlayStation consoles.[23]

The Xbox Series X/S is the successor to the Xbox One and was released on November 10, 2020, in select regions.[24][25] Microsoft followed the Xbox One's dual console models: a high-end line (the Series X comparable to the Xbox One X), and a cheaper model (the Series S comparable to the Xbox One S).[26] The performance goal for the Xbox Series X was about four times that of the Xbox One X,[27] but without sacrificing game development for the lower-end Xbox Series S.[26]

Both the Xbox Series X and Series S use an AMD Zen 2 CPU and an RDNA 2 GPU but with different frequencies and compute units. The Series S has lower frequencies with reduced performance, and the Series X has graphics performance estimated at 12.14 teraflops compared to the Series S's 4.006 teraflops.[28][29] Microsoft developed a Velocity Architecture, which includes an internal SSD system (1 TB on the Series X, 500 GB on the Series S) used for storing games and new DirectX interfaces with improved input/output and in-game texture streaming and rendering. The Series X includes an optical disc reader supporting Blu-ray and UHD media, which is absent in the Series S.[30] Both consoles support external game storage media and online distribution via Xbox Live. Full backward compatibility was announced for all Xbox One games, including previously supported Xbox and Xbox 360 games but excluding Kinect games.[31][32] Microsoft encouraged third-party developers and publishers to use its Smart Delivery approach to give Xbox One games free performance upgrade patches for Xbox Series X/S.[33]

Despite being a holdover from the eighth-generation, the Nintendo Switch has been positioned by sources as a primary competitor to other ninth-generation consoles, due to its continued hardware and software support as of 2023.[7][8] The financial failure of Nintendo's first eighth-gen console, the Wii U, resulted in the Switch's relatively late release in the eighth-generation, being released in March 2017.[34][35] An "OLED Model" revision was released on October 8, 2021, introducing an updated design and improved display, though it did not introduce any performance improvements.[36] Additionally, commercial performance of Switch-exclusive titles have remained high during the ninth-generation, with Pokémon Scarlet and Violet (2022) and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (2023) both achieving 10 million units sold in its first three days after release.[37][38]

On February 25, 2022, Valve released the Steam Deck, a handheld computer that runs SteamOS 3.0, a Linux distribution developed by Valve. The Deck includes Valve's own Proton compatibility layer, allowing nearly all Windows-based games to run on the Deck without modification. The handheld also allows users to install Windows or other software on the device. The Steam Deck was the first handheld to use an RDNA 2 GPU, which is also used on both the home consoles of the ninth generation.[54] The handheld was well received by many outlets, with an overall praising of its extensive game compatibility and portability.[55][56]

The success of the Steam Deck led to the growth of the handheld computing device market and to the creation of direct competitors, such as the Asus ROG Ally.

Cloud gaming has become part of the gaming landscape with Stadia and Amazon Luna being introduced in November 2019 and October 2020, respectively. As well as GeForce Now coming out of its four years of beta in February 2020. None of these systems have had any financial breakthrough as home video game consoles, but they are viable for multi platform ninth generation games.[57] Google, having failed to find a large player base, shut down Stadia on January 19, 2023[58]

Cloud gaming has also been used by Microsoft as part of its gaming subscription service, Xbox Game Pass. This gave Microsoft a head start in what analysts expected to be a major complementary service, supplementing the unprofitable console business and appealing to more entry-level players with better accessibility at a lower price.[59] Microsoft's Phil Spencer said that they believed that they could not compete on the console hardware space as much as Sony or Nintendo, and shifted their strategy towards Xbox Game Pass and cloud gaming.[60] Sony in turn revamped its PlayStation Plus subscription in mid-2022 by merging in PlayStation Now, its cloud-based service for games of past PlayStation generations, as a feature in a higher subscription tier.[61]

The continued growth of cloud gaming services has inspired the development of handhelds like the Logitech G CLOUD Gaming Handheld[62] and Razer Edge,[63] which advertise cloud streaming as a key selling point. These handhelds themselves exist as a concept outside of the ninth generation, as they lack any dedicated software library.

The ninth generation continued the trend of virtual reality. The previous generation mainly consisted of VR accessories made for mobile games (such as Google's Cardboard/Daydream and Samsung's Gear VR) or computers (HTC Vive and the Oculus Rift).[64][65] This generation has started to offer standalone consoles dedicated to virtual reality games. The Meta Quest Pro was released in 2022.[66] Additions in 2023 included the PlayStation VR2 (a PS5 accessory serving as a sequel to 2016's PlayStation VR) and the Meta Quest 3.[67] 2024 is set to have Apple's entry into the market with the release of the Apple Vision Pro.[68][69]