PS6: Release date, price, specs and everything we know so far

Sony’s next console is on the way, but a global shortage of memory chips has left its launch date and price uncertain.

Sony has yet to announce the PlayStation 6, and its chief executive has admitted the company has not decided when to release it or how much it will cost.

The PS5 turns six next month, and many gamers had expected its successor to arrive in late 2027. The AI boom has changed that picture because data centres are buying up the memory chips that consoles depend on, which is pushing up the cost of building new hardware.

Here we set out what Sony has said so far, and separately what leakers and analysts are claiming.

Has Sony confirmed the PS6?

Sony has not officially named the console, but it has made clear that a new one is in development.

In October 2025 the PS5’s lead architect, Mark Cerny, appeared alongside AMD to unveil Project Amethyst, a joint effort to develop new graphics technology. Cerny said he was “really excited about bringing them to a future console in a few years’ time”.

Sony’s chief executive Hiroki Totoki addressed the subject directly in May 2026. “We have not yet decided on at what timing we will launch the new console, or at what prices,” he said, adding that memory prices were expected to remain “very high” into 2027.

When is the PS6 release date?

There is no official release date. Sony has usually left around seven years between consoles, with the PS4 launching in 2013 and the PS5 in November 2020, which pointed to a launch in late 2027.

In February, however, Bloomberg reported that Sony was considering pushing the launch back to 2028 or even 2029 because of the memory shortage, which could make the console far more expensive than the company would like.

Totoki told the Wall Street Journal in August that a date had still not been set.

Leaks suggest an earlier launch remains possible. In September the hardware leaker KeplerL2, who previously leaked details of the PS5 Pro, claimed the design of the PS6’s main chip had been finalised, which would allow Sony to release the console in November 2027. For now a 2027 launch cannot be ruled out, although 2028 appears increasingly likely.

How much will the PS6 cost?

Sony has not announced a price, but the signs point to an expensive console.

The company raised PS5 prices worldwide in April 2026, citing “continued pressures in the global economic landscape”. A standard PS5 now costs $649.99 in the US, £569.99 in the UK and €649.99 in Europe, while the PS5 Pro has risen to $899.99. The PS5 cost $499 when it launched in 2020.

According to KeplerL2, the cost of building a PS6 rose from about $760 in March to around $960 in July. In his most recent post he claimed the memory and storage alone now cost Sony more than $680. None of these figures has been confirmed, but if they are close to accurate, a launch price of $900 or more is a real possibility and some observers believe it could exceed $1,000.

That prospect has concerned analysts. In August the research firm Ampere Analysis modelled what would happen if the PS6 and Microsoft’s next Xbox, codenamed Helix, both launched at $1,000 in 2028. It found that over five years the two consoles could sell up to 38% fewer units than the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S did over the same period.

What are the PS6 specs?

Sony has not published any specifications, although a good deal is known about the technology behind the console.

What’s confirmed: AMD will again supply the chips. Reuters reported in 2024 that AMD had beaten Intel to the contract, and that backwards compatibility with existing games was an important factor in Sony’s decision.

Project Amethyst offers the clearest indication of Sony’s direction. Sony and AMD presented three new technologies, the first of which, called Neural Arrays, allows parts of the graphics chip to work together as a single AI engine, making AI upscaling faster and more detailed.

The second, Radiance Cores, is hardware dedicated to ray tracing, the realistic lighting effect that currently forces many games to run at 30 frames per second. The third, Universal Compression, compresses data before it reaches the console’s memory so that the system can do more with less bandwidth.

What’s rumoured: KeplerL2 claims the PS6 will be roughly twice as powerful as the PS5, with ray tracing up to 12 times faster. He also says Microsoft’s next Xbox will be more powerful on paper, at 56 teraflops compared with 40 for the PS6.

Artificial intelligence is expected to play a large part. The PS5 Pro already uses Sony’s own AI upscaling system, known as PSSR, and a more advanced version is widely expected on the PS6.

Will there be a PS6 handheld?

Possibly. Rumours of a new portable PlayStation have circulated for more than a year, and KeplerL2 claims one will launch alongside the PS6 and share its library of games.

Sony has not confirmed the device, and it is not yet clear whether it would run every game or how much it would cost.

Will the PS6 have a disc drive?

Sony has not said, but a recent decision offers a strong hint.

In July the company announced on the official PlayStation Blog that it would stop producing discs for new PlayStation games from January 2028. Sony’s own figures show that 85% of full games on PS4 and PS5 are already bought as downloads.

The company said “the general preference for digital media significantly outpaces physical discs”. The move has been unpopular with many fans, but it suggests the PS6 will be designed around digital games, even if a disc drive is offered for older titles.

What games will be on the PS6?

No PS6 games have been announced yet, but several major projects could appear on the console. Sony confirmed a new God of War game starring Kratos this year, Naughty Dog has begun work on new The Last of Us projects, and Hideo Kojima’s spy game Physint is also in development.

PS5 owners are unlikely to be left behind for some time. Given the size of the PS5 audience and the expected price of its successor, most major games will probably be released on both consoles for several years.

What it means for you

The PS6 should deliver a significant improvement in graphics thanks to AI and much faster ray tracing. However, the two questions that matter most to players, when it will launch and how much it will cost, remain unanswered even within Sony.

Anyone deciding whether to buy a PS5 now should bear in mind that the PS6 is unlikely to arrive before late 2027 and is expected to be the most expensive PlayStation so far.

We will update this article when Sony makes an official announcement.

Frequently asked questions

When is the PS6 coming out?

Sony has not announced a release date. Leaks point to late 2027, although Bloomberg has reported that Sony is considering 2028 or 2029 because of the global memory shortage.

How much will the PS6 cost?

There is no official price. Leaked cost estimates and rising memory prices suggest it could cost $900 or more, but none of this has been confirmed.

Will PS5 games work on the PS6?

Sony has not confirmed this, but AMD was reportedly chosen partly to keep older games working, so PS5 games are widely expected to run on the new console.

Should I buy a PS5 or wait for the PS6?

The PS6 is at least a year away and is likely to cost considerably more than a PS5. If you want to play now, a PS5 remains a sensible choice, particularly as most new games are expected to be released on both consoles.