PS6 could be delayed by multiple years, industry expert warns

The ongoing memory pricing crisis of today not only affects the technology and market conditions in the here and now but has far-reaching consequences for the future too, affecting multiple types of products, including consoles.

We have already seen it, in affect, pushing the price of components such as RAM, storage and graphics cards up, and recently, Valve released a Steam Hardware FAQ that stated the "limited availability and growing prices" of memory necessitated the need to revise the "exact shipping schedule and pricing" of the Steam Frame and Steam Machine.

The crisis stems from the massive increase in data centres being built around the world to accommodate the AI boom. AI technologies such as LLMS (large language models) require a huge amount of memory in order to function at a high level, and with ChatGPT receiving around 800 million active users, there is clearly a huge level of demand.

Manufacturers such as Micron Technology, SK Hynix and Samsung, who create system memory and NAND modules, recognise this and instead prioritise supplying the commercial market, as opposed to consumers. On 3 December 2025, Micron Technologies announced that it was to "exit the Crucial consumer business". Crucial was Micron's consumer-facing brand and was recognisable to many who liked to build their own PCs.

The reason for this was given by Chief Business Officer Sumit Sadana, who said that "AI-driven growth in the data center has led to a surge in demand for memory and storage" and that "Micron has made the difficult decision to exit the Crucial consumer business in order to improve supply and support for our larger, strategic customers in faster-growing segments".

Analysts don’t see the situation improving any time soon, either, with Sassine Ghazi, CEO of Snyopsys, telling CNBC that they expect the "crunch" to continue all the way to 2027.

This situation, dubbed by some as RAMageddon, provides the context for why the PlayStation 6 could be delayed by multiple years, all the way to "2028 or even 2029", as reported by Bloomberg.

You may remember that when the PS5 and Xbox Series consoles launched in late 2020, buying one was extremely difficult, owing to supply constraints brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.

This situation is not entirely dissimilar for the end user, with inflated prices and products that are hard to buy, but the pressures on the likes of Sony are completely different, as they are now contending with supply and pricing issues during active development of their next-generation console.

According to industry leaker Kepler L2 (as spotted by TechPowerUp), who has an exemplary track record and a lot of insight into the world of graphics cards and console development, the PS6 could have a memory configuration of 30GB GDDR7 RAM, which is to say that it’s very high-end RAM, making it an extremely expensive proposition.

If Sony stuck to the typical seven-year console cycle as it has done so since the PS3, it would mean releasing the console in 2027, when many predict the market will still be extremely pressed for memory and chips.

Although Sony can buy memory and other components in bulk, it still has to navigate the commercial market, comprised of big players such as Apple and Nvidia.

Delaying the PlayStation 6 to 2028 or 2029 would offer Sony some breathing space and allow the company time to procure components when conditions improve, as opposed to releasing a more expensive console sooner, and likely passing those costs onto the consumer.

It could also mean that the PS5 generation becomes more profitable as Sony could sell more units than they otherwise would, with no next-generation offering from Sony available.

Those looking for an upgrade may look to buying a PS5 Pro, which, whilst not increasing the user-base, is still more consoles sold for Sony.

Hugely anticipated games such as GTA 6 and The Witcher 4 are likely to be console-sellers, and having the PS5 and PS5 Pro as the premiere consoles to play them could reignite interest from "lapsed gamers" who only take interest when such titles come around.

However, RAMageddon will affect manufacturing costs for current-generation consoles, too, and we have already seen price increases for the PS5 in the past.

AMD recently stated that it was in a position to supply Microsoft with chips to support an Xbox launch in 2027, but the Redmond company will be facing all the same issues. Microsoft gained the huge upper hand when it released the Xbox 360 almost a full year ahead of the PS3, though, and it wouldn’t be unreasonable to assume they would hope to repeat the trick, that is, if Microsoft and consumers can stomach the cost of releasing what is reported to be a very high-end console into a very volatile and expensive market.

There is also an ever-yawning gap between game releases from studios, as games become more complex and expensive to develop. Naughty Dog, for example, has only managed to ship The Last of Us Part 1 as a native PS5 game, and that was a remake, with Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet not expected until 2027. Regardless of RAMageddon, this alone could have one day lengthened console generations.

All said, there are many reasons for Sony to delay the PlayStation 6, and far fewer to stick to a 2027 launch.

Check out more of our Gaming coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.