The SoC design for Sony Interactive Entertainment’s next console, the PS6, has been completed, which Microsoft remains undecided on specs for the next Xbox.
According to hardware insider KeplerL2, the PS6 SoC is design complete, and is currently in pre-silicon validation, a process that uses models to test hardware before it’s physically built. They further mentioned that it is scheduled for A0 tape-out, the first version of the microchip from fabrication, sometime late this year. This would potentially put the PS5 successor on track for a late 2027 launch, if Sony Interactive Entertainment’s roadmap for its prior consoles is taken into account.
According to the insider, the PS6 GPU is based on an early fork of GFX13. The architecture was previously known as RDNA5, but will now be called UDNA.
Meanwhile, zhangzhonghao, another reliable hardware leaker, took to the chiphell forums to share that the PS6 will use 3D Cache, while Microsoft has yet to decide specs for the next Xbox SoC. They claimed with certainty that AMD will launch its UDNA GPU and Zen 6 CPU lineup next year in 2026.
A late 2027 launch for the PS6 had also been stated in Sony Interactive Entertainment’s filing to the UK’s competition regulator in 2022. The console maker mentioned that it is likely to launch the next generation of its PlayStation console, the PS6, around the year 2027. The filing pertained to Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard King, as Sony attempted to block the deal from happening.
As for the next Xbox, Xbox Two co-host and Windows Central editor Jez Corden had previously endorsed a leak, according to which Microsoft will have third party manufacturers release their own versions of its future console, just like how there are already third party controllers available on the market. According to him, the next Xbox has a “heavy” Windows slant, and will be a reference device for manufacturers making devices. He added that the idea is similar in theory to Surface Pro 11 being a reference device for AI PCs.
