The next generation of consoles is starting to take shape. New leaks about the PlayStation 6 (PS6), circulated by the well-known YouTuber Moore’s Law Is Dead (MLID), outline a scenario where Sony would be betting on an unprecedented technological leap, especially in ray tracing and AI workloads.
Ray tracing: the major generational leap
Although rasterization performance would grow more modestly —between 2.5 and 3 times compared to PS5— the most ambitious estimates point to a 6 to 12 times increase in ray tracing. In the highest scenario, the PS6 would match the performance of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090, capable of running real-time path tracing.
This figure would not only surprise in the world of consoles but also reinforce the idea that AMD, traditionally behind NVIDIA in ray tracing technology, has achieved a decisive advance with its RDNA 5 architecture.
APU Architecture: CPU and GPU
The heart of the PS6 would be a monolithic APU of 280 mm² manufactured on TSMC’s 3 nm process, with an estimated 160W TDP, significantly lower than that of the PS5 Pro.
- CPU: 8 Zen 6C cores (7 active + 1 redundant) and 2 low-power Zen 6 cores for system tasks.
- GPU: 54 RDNA 5 Compute Units (probably 52 active), clock speeds between 2.6 and 3 GHz, and 10 MB of L2 cache.
- Estimated Power: between 34 and 40 TFlops, compared to the 10.28 TFlops of the PS5 and 16.7 TFlops of the PS5 Pro.
To put it into perspective: the PS4 only delivered 1.84 TFlops, highlighting the magnitude of this generational leap.
Memory and Bandwidth
The system would feature GDDR7 memory over a 160-bit bus, reaching 640 GB/s bandwidth. Sony is evaluating configurations of 30 GB or 40 GB of RAM, depending on cost strategy.
Compatibility and Launch Window
Backward compatibility with PS4 and PS5 games would remain a strategic pillar, extending the lifespan of current catalogs. Production would begin in mid-2027 with a planned release in Fall 2027.
If Sony repeats the communication strategy used with the PS5 — whose first official details were revealed 18 months before launch — we could expect confirmed news starting in spring 2026.
Rivalry with Microsoft
The leak also mentions Xbox Magnus, the APU powering the upcoming Xbox. According to MLID, it would be about 25% more powerful than the PS6, but at the cost of a more expensive multi-die design and higher power consumption, which could impact its final price.
Implications for the Ecosystem
If these specifications are confirmed, the PS6 would represent a radical shift in the convergence between high-end consoles and PC:
- Consoles capable of running full real-time path tracing.
- Improved energy efficiency thanks to the move to the 3 nm node.
- A platform ready for workloads like generative AI and advanced simulation gaming.
The real challenge for Sony will be balancing power, price, and efficiency, while AMD seeks to conclusively close the gap with NVIDIA in next-gen graphics.