The South Korean firm is aware that there is a big interest in its future console - which will succeed Sony's latest video gaming device, the PlayStation 5 Pro.

Hideaki Nishino, CEO and president of Sony Interactive Entertainment, teased during Sony's recent Game and Network Services Segment Fireside Chat: “We now have a large ecosystem of highly engaged players across both the PlayStation 5 and the PlayStation 4 generations.

"So naturally, therefore, there’s a huge interest in our next-generation console strategy.

“While we cannot share further details at this stage, the future of the platform is top of mind.

"We are committed to exploring a new and enhanced way for players to engage with our content and services.”

Elsewhere, Mr. Nishino was asked about the fuiture of PlayStation consoles' hardware and if it could be replaced by cloud gaming - technology that allows players to stream video games over the internet to a range of devices.

He said: “Cloud streaming is progressing well from a technical standpoint, as we have demonstrated with [our] offerings, but end-to-end network stability is not in our control.

“And the higher cost per playtime compared to the traditional console model remains a challenge.

“Cloud gaming is increasingly providing an additional option for players to access content,

"But our belief is that the majority of players continue to want to experience gaming through local execution without dependency on network conditions.

"And PS5 and PS5 Pro have validated this thesis, I believe."