The PlayStation 4 Slim and PlayStation 4 Pro were released just a few months ago and now, it has been reported that gamers can expect a PlayStation 5 in 2018.

Damian Thong, an analyst at Macquarie Capital Securities, accurately predicted the release of the PS4 Slim and PS4 Pro and now he's predicting a 2018 release for the PlayStation 5.

Although Thong has been right in the past, there is no real way of knowing until Sony makes the official announcement for their next-generation console. With the PS4 Slim and PS4 Pro just being a few months old, it's highly unlikely to get the announcement soon. But if Thong is correct, Sony may announce it during the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in 2018.

Besides a release window, nothing is known about the successor of the PS4, but it's to be expected from Sony to come up with a much stronger and better console than their last. This means that the next console will come with a stronger processor, quicker memory and bigger storage.

Sony has created its own processors in the past, but doing that with the PS5 is highly unlikely because of it being too costly. Also, with the expected release being a year away, it doesn't give Sony much time to develop its own chips. It's also easier to stick to their current design for it to be more compatible with their older consoles.

Microsoft, Sony's competitor when it comes to gaming consoles, has not been able to keep up with the success of the PS4 in the previous year. That might change once Microsoft releases Project Scorpio, which will have more power than any gaming console out in the market. This will set a standard for Sony when it comes to the release of the PS5.

PlayStation users will just have to wait for Sony to make the official announcement for the next console and hope it will be better than Microsoft's Project Scorpio.