For PlayStation fans who have already started looking beyond the PS5 and PS5 Pro, the road to Sony’s next-generation console may be longer than expected. The latest reports from industry watchers and Sony’s own executives suggest that the PlayStation 6 is unlikely to stick to its previously estimated timeline, with rising component costs and global supply pressures forcing the company to rethink its plans.

At the heart of the delay is a problem that goes far beyond gaming. The rapid expansion of Artificial Intelligence has changed the way critical hardware components are produced, priced, and prioritized. As AI companies soak up huge amounts of memory supply, consumer electronics makers including Sony are finding it difficult to secure key parts without paying a premium. Here’s everything we know so far.

Why is Sony slowing down the PS6 launch timeline?

Leaks and suggestions over the past year had pointed towards a possible PS6 launch around November 2027, which would nicely follow Sony’s usual console cycle. However, that plan now appears uncertain. One of the biggest challenges is the sharp rise in RAM prices. Modern gaming consoles rely heavily on high-speed memory to provide smooth gameplay, detailed visuals, and fast loading times. As global memory production declines, those components are becoming both scarce and expensive.

This is not an isolated issue. Smartphone brands and laptop makers have already started raising prices to compensate for higher memory costs, and there are little signs that the situation will ease any time soon. AI-driven demand continues to dominate supply chains, leading to competition for what is left of traditional consumer devices.

For Sony, pushing the launch to 2027 under these circumstances will come with trade-offs. Pricing the PS6 higher could hurt initial sales and make the console less accessible to a wider audience. Absorbing the additional costs internally will put pressure on margins, which are already tight in the console business. As a result, delaying the launch is emerging as a viable option, albeit unpopular.

What are Sony and AMD working on behind the scenes

While the launch window remains fluid, Sony has started to drop clear hints about what it’s building for the future. Mark Cerny, chief architect of the PS5 and PS5 Pro, has confirmed that the next PlayStation is still “a few years” away. He also emphasized that many of the technologies being discussed are currently in the simulation stage rather than final hardware.

Sony’s collaboration with AMD is focused on a huge leap in graphics capability. According to Cerny, the existing GPU approach has reached its limits, prompting both companies to rethink how future consoles will handle complex scenes. The next generation of PlayStation hardware is expected to integrate advanced elements of AMD’s RDNA architecture, aimed at making it easier to process demanding effects.

One major development is the introduction of dedicated Radiance Core. These are specialized processors designed to handle ray tracing and path tracing, techniques used to create realistic lighting and reflections. By removing this workload, the rest of the GPU can focus on shaders and textures, improving overall performance and efficiency. AMD’s Jack Huynh has hinted that these cores will appear not only in Sony’s upcoming consoles but also in future desktop GPUs.

What this means for the PS6 launch window

In addition to raw graphics power, Sony is also looking at smart ways to increase performance. Improvements to AMD’s AI-assisted upscaling, including new versions of FSR Redstone and technologies like Neural Radiance caching, are part of this strategy. Compression is another major focus area. Sony is reportedly planning to move on from the PS5’s delta color compression and adopt universal compression, which works across almost the entire rendering pipeline. The promise here is higher frame rates, better visual detail, and better efficiency.

These efficiency gains aren’t limited to home consoles. They may also play a role in future PlayStation handhelds, where low power usage is important. Sony is already experimenting with low-performance modes on the PS5, and similar ideas may trickle down to portable hardware.

With all this in mind, the PS6 doesn’t appear to be canceled or in trouble, but it’s clearly not close either. With memory prices climbing and next-generation GPU technologies still being refined, a launch closer to 2028 now seems more realistic than the previously rumored 2027 window. For gamers, the wait may be long, but Sony is positioning the PS6 as a bigger and more meaningful leap forward when it finally arrives.