Analyst anticipates PS6 release date delay as impressive PS5 console and game sales continue

As storage and memory costs impact manufacturers, the rumored PS6 release date may be at risk. David Gibson believes that, with healthy revenue from PS5 consoles and games, the company won’t hesitate to delay the system. The analyst published a paywalled Japanese-language article on Sandstone Insights with his predictions.

A sneak peak at Sony's next financial report

Gibson regularly provides global investors with insights into the gaming industry in Japan. His recent report reveals that Sony will exceed expectations for Q3 in the 2025 fiscal year. With PlayStation a large part of its portfolio, Gibson projects sales of 1.8 trillion yen and an operating profit of 160 billion yen.

PS5 sales likely benefited from discounts offered during October to December. There was evidence that console retail performance had slowed in recent months. However, Circana’s December U.S. data shows hardware adoption remained steady. Despite complaints about a lack of first-party PS5 games, the analyst also forecasts excellent software sales.

A rosy financial picture gives Sony more confidence to prolong the current generation. Even so, the company may have decided on PS6 specs, which could include an AMD Orion APU and RDNA 5 support. It’s unclear if it would consider revising its configuration with an extended delay.

Component costs could derail future consoles

Another factor that may affect the PS6 release date is manufacturing costs. High storage and memory prices threaten existing and upcoming systems like the Steam Machine. Sony reportedly has a reserve of components for the PS5, but its follow-up will likely demand at least 32GB of GDDR7 VRAM.

Opinions are mixed on whether the next Xbox and PlayStation generation will arrive on time. Insider Gaming’s Tom Henderson leaked that Microsoft and Sony had begun discussing postponements. However, Moore’s Law Is Dead believes that companies will wait for memory costs to moderate in the near future.

Given the difficult economic climate, it could also be challenging to convince buyers to upgrade. The Xbox Series X and PS5 are already listed for higher than their 2020 launch MSRPs. Some gamers fear that with an imposing PS6 price, it might not offer enough value to warrant an investment.