PlayStation fans are desperate for any new information about the PS5, which is why even a Bloomberg report about expensive parts was enough to get the internet buzzing on Friday morning. But hidden in the middle of the story was an interesting note about the sequel to the PlayStation VR headset that launched in 2016.
“Separately, Sony plans to release a new version of the PlayStation VR virtual-reality headset, tentatively scheduled after the PlayStation 5 goes on sale,” reads the Bloomberg report.
This isn’t the first we’ve heard of the PSVR living on past the PS4. Speaking with Wired in April, lead system architect Mark Cerny confirmed that the original PlayStation VR headset will be compatible with the PS5, and adding that VR is “very important” to Sony going forward. Considering that Sony has sold more than 5 million PSVR units worldwide, a sequel seemed inevitable, but the Bloomberg story is as close as we’ve gotten to official confirmation.
Although Sony hasn’t had much to say about the future of virtual reality on its home consoles, a patent uncovered late in 2019 may have given us an early look at the hardware. The patent described a system that uses a spherical device with a stereo camera paired with a head-mounted display that lets two people interact with one another in VR. When one user puts on the headset, they’ll receive audio and visual feedback from the cameras and microphones on the spherical device in real-time. The spherical device is also capable of mirroring your movements.
We have no idea whether or not any of this will make its way into the final product, but it sounds like it might not be all that long before we find out for sure. Unfortunately, “after the PS5 goes on sale” isn’t very specific, but perhaps when Sony finally pulls back the curtain on the PS5, we’ll also see the PSVR 2.
