Sony admits it still doesn't know when PS6 will launch
Sony has no launch date or price for the PlayStation 6 — and for now, it can't set one. At a May 2026 earnings call, CEO Hiroki Totoki told investors that the ongoing memory chip shortage makes it impossible to plan the console's release. With DRAM prices up roughly 171% in 2025 and AI data centers absorbing around 70% of global memory supply, the components needed to build a next-gen console at a reasonable price simply aren't available in volume.
The shortage explained
AI infrastructure has quietly consumed the memory market. Server farms running large language models and other AI workloads demand enormous quantities of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and standard DRAM, leaving manufacturers with little capacity to redirect toward consumer electronics. Sony is competing for the same chips as data center operators — and losing.
Totoki was blunt about the math: the more expensive the components, the higher the console's retail price. The PS5 Pro already retails at $699 in the US and £699 in the UK, a figure that would have seemed steep five years ago. A PS6 built on today's memory costs could push the launch price significantly higher.
Sony expects the memory shortage to persist through at least fiscal year 2027, which rules out a confident late-2027 release window. Bloomberg reported in February 2026 that Sony is weighing a delay to 2028 or even 2029, and Totoki's comments do nothing to push back on that timeline.
What Sony is considering
Rather than commit to a hard launch window, Sony is exploring what Totoki called "changes to business models." That language points toward subscription or financing options — essentially ways to spread the cost of an expensive console rather than ask buyers to pay it all upfront. PlayStation Plus, Sony's existing subscription service, is likely part of that calculation.
Per Push Square, no specific pricing or distribution plan has been announced. Microsoft's next Xbox — codenamed Project Helix — faces the same component pressures, so the entire next console generation could shift later than anyone expected.
The takeaway for PS5 owners
If you're holding a PS5 waiting to upgrade, there's no reason to rush. Sony's own statements suggest the PS5 lifecycle will extend well beyond the typical seven-to-eight-year window. That's actually useful information: don't let your current console deteriorate waiting for a release date that isn't coming soon.
