Insider: PS6 memory and storage cost over $680 per console

The next PlayStation has not been announced, but a new claim about its bill of materials is already making gamers nervous. According to KeplerL2, a leaker with a track record on AMD hardware, the RAM and NAND storage alone in a PlayStation 6 would now cost Sony more than $680 per console, VGC reports. In a post on the NeoGAF forum, the insider added that those parts were far cheaper when Sony finalised the design.

Sony has not commented, and nothing about the PS6's specs, price or launch date is official. Still, the claim is worth taking seriously, because it matches what is happening across the industry.

Our take

Memory is now the problem, not the chip. Demand from AI data centres has squeezed supplies of RAM and flash storage, and the effects are already visible. VGC notes that a PS5 now costs over 50% more than at launch (up $200 / £200), and the PS5 Pro sits at $899 after two price rises in under a year. We saw the same pressure in PC graphics cards, as our report on the RTX 5090 supply showed.

Microsoft is saying the quiet part out loud. Xbox has confirmed a next-generation console codenamed Helix, and Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has said memory costs will affect its pricing and availability.

$1,000 is now part of the conversation. Aldora CEO Joost van Dreunen told GamesIndustry.biz the next generation may not arrive until 2028 and that "north of a grand is the floor". Newzoo's Manu Rosier is less gloomy: premium versions may cross $1,000, but he expects base models to stay below $999.

If the leak is right, Sony faces a choice between a late launch, a smaller memory pool or a painful price. None of those is good news for players. For now, the hardware you already own is the safer bet; a good gaming monitor or headset will carry over to whatever comes next.