It’s the End of an Era for the PS4

It’s the end of an era for the PlayStation 4, as the console now has fewer active players than its successor, the PlayStation 5. Sony knocked it out of the park with its first two PlayStation consoles, and while the PS3 eventually became a success, it wasn’t nearly as dominant as its predecessors. The PlayStation 4, meanwhile, has surpassed both the PS3 and the original PlayStation, and is currently the fifth-best-selling video game console of all time.

The PS4 generation was wildly successful for Sony. It managed to win over a lot of Xbox loyalists in a generation where digital games became increasingly prevalent, making it more likely that consumers would stick with the PlayStation brand instead of jumping ship so that they can retain access to their games. The PS4 was home to all kinds of critically-acclaimed, groundbreaking games, and featured plenty of exclusives that ultimately made it a must-buy. There are still new games released for the PS4 to this day, despite the fact that the console will be turning 12 years old later this year.

Even though the PS5 was released all the way back in 2020, the PS4 has sold over 117 million units, ensuring that the older console would maintain a larger active player base than the new one for quite some time. Thanks to its gigantic install base, the PS4 has had more monthly active players than the PS5 for the past five years, but that has finally changed. As reported by VGC, Sony has confirmed that more players are now using the PS5 every month than the PS4. This marks the end of an era for the PS4, and gamers can expect support for the system to slowly fizzle out in the coming years.

PS5 Now Has More Active Players Than PS4

We are already seeing this from Sony itself. Most PlayStation exclusives are skipping PS4 to focus on PS5, and it has been that way for years now. Sony has also confirmed that starting in January 2026, PlayStation Plus benefits will no longer focus on PS4. While PS4 gamers may still get some PS Plus games now and then, the focus will be on PS5 from that point forward, and so those that have yet to upgrade may not get as much out of their subscription as they used to do.

It’s inevitable that older consoles are eventually left behind, and it’s honestly impressive how long the PS4 has held on. The PlayStation 4 will go down as one of the most successful video game consoles of all time and represents a staggering rebound from Sony after the slow start the PS3 experienced. With Sony already discussing its plans for the PlayStation 6, it will be interesting to see if the PS5’s longevity is anywhere close to the PS4’s.