After Sony and AMD’s “Project Amethyst” tech showcase teased the building blocks of the next console generation, a well-known tech leaker says PlayStation 6’s launch isn’t a maybe, it’s the plan for 2027.
The PlayStation 5 might still have a few good years left, but talk about its successor is already heating up. Sony’s next-gen PlayStation 6 has been popping up in leaks, reports, and even chatter about a portable PS6 handheld device. With the PS5 Pro out, attention is already shifting toward what the full-blown successor could bring, and when we’ll actually see it.
Earlier today, PlayStation dropped a joint video with AMD called “From Project Amethyst to the Future of Play.” The 9-minute segment featured PS5’s lead architect at SIE, Mark Cerny, and senior vice president and general manager at AMD, Jack Huynh, explaining how they’re shaping future console hardware.
Shortly after that video, a well-known hardware insider dropped some new details and confirmed a few things fans have been guessing for months.
Leaker Claims PlayStation 6 Is Targeting 2027
KeplerL2, known for accurate AMD leaks, said in a thread on the popular gaming forum NeoGAF, that 2027 isn’t just being discussed, it’s Sony’s current plan for the PlayStation 6 release, unless major delays happen.
Replying to a comment that said the PlayStation 6 releasing in 2027 “is on the table,” Kepler replied, “Not just on the table, it’s the plan unless any unexpected delays happen.”
Of course, as always, it’s smart to take any unofficial details with a grain of salt until Sony itself confirms them.
During the Project Amethyst video, Cerny and Huynh talked about three big pieces of tech: Neural Arrays, which let groups of GPU cores team up and share data so they can run bigger, better AI tools (like upscalers and denoisers) in real time.
Radiance Cores take over the heavy lifting for ray/path tracing, tracking millions of light rays, so the normal shader cores can focus on drawing the scene, which means cleaner reflections, shadows, and lighting without tanking performance.
And lastly, Universal Compression squeezes all kinds of data (not just textures) before it goes to memory, effectively giving you “more bandwidth” to push higher detail and steadier frame rates with less waste.
PlayStation 6 Leaked Specs So Far
As for what Sony’s next-gen console will pack, we have some rumored specs for the PlayStation 6, which can be found below:
- Codename: Orion (PS6 home console)
- CPU: 8-core Zen 6 (or newer)
- GPU: 40–48 RDNA 5 compute units @ 3 GHz or higher
- GPU Architecture: RDNA 5 with ~5–10% rasterization uplift per CU over RDNA 4
- Memory: GDDR7, Sony is considering either a 160-bit or 192-bit bus (unlikely to go beyond 256-bit)
- Total Board Power (TBP): Around 160W (lower than PS5’s power use)
- Performance Targets:
- ~3× PS5 rasterization performance
- Significantly higher ray tracing performance
- Focus on locking 4K 120 FPS in many games rather than chasing extreme raster numbers
- Backward Compatibility: PS4 and PS5 supported (no PS3 mentioned)
- Architecture Design Considerations:
- Potential AMD chiplet design (AT2/AT3 desktop derivatives), though unclear if Sony committed to it
- Built on TSMC 3 nm process node
- Memory Strategy: Efficiency + cost balance, not overspending on wide memory buses
- Overall Design Goal: High ray tracing and efficiency focus rather than max CU count for raster performance
PlayStation 6 Handheld Leaked Specs So Far
Regarding the rumored specs for the PlayStation 6 handheld (codenamed “Canis”), here’s what the leaks currently suggest:
- CPU: 4 × Zen 6c cores (3nm process)
- GPU: 12–20 RDNA 5 compute units @ 1.6–2.0 GHz
- RAM: 16 GB LPDDR5X-7500+ on a 128-bit bus
- Estimated Power Draw: 15 W thermal board power
- Performance Target: About half the PS5’s rasterization performance, but potentially stronger in ray tracing due to RDNA 5 improvements
- Backward Compatibility: PS5 and PS4 support, with PS5 “Low Power Mode” for better performance matching
- Storage Options: MicroSD slot and M.2 SSD slot
- Display: Touchscreen
- Other Hardware: Dual microphones, haptic vibration, USB-C with fast charging and video output (speculated to allow docked play on TVs)
With Sony and AMD openly talking about next-gen features and credible insiders confirming a 2027 target, it’s starting to feel like the next PlayStation isn’t that far off.
What do you think? Does a 2027 launch sound too good to be true? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
