Sony said in 2024 that the PS5 had reached the end of its life cycle. The ninth-generation console will mark its sixth anniversary later this year, and early development on its successor, known as the PlayStation 6 (PS6), has reportedly begun. According to recent leaks, Sony’s next-gen console may feature a significant increase in system memory. The PS6 could come with up to 30GB of unified memory, which would mark a significant jump from the PS5 and the high-end PS5 Pro.
More RAM on PS6
The latest speculation stems from a community forum post by leaker KeplerL2, which suggests that Sony is exploring memory configurations beyond those currently used by PS5 and PS5 Pro models. While both consoles come with 16GB of unified memory, the PS5 Pro offers higher bandwidth and more RAM allocation for developers.
On the other hand, according to leaks, PS6 can offer up to 30GB of unified memory. It is expected to feature a 3GB GDDR7 memory module in a clamshell configuration and come with 10 16-bit memory channels. The leak suggests that Sony has achieved a total storage capacity of 30GB without utilizing a larger single memory chip.
According to the same statement, this setup would result in a 160-bit memory bus that, combined with the 32Gbps memory chips, would provide approximately 640GB/s of memory bandwidth. For context, the PS5 offers 448 GB/s of memory bandwidth, while the PS5 Pro tops out at 576 GB/s.
In theory, expanded unified memory will allow Sony’s next-generation console to better support more complex game worlds, higher-resolution textures and advanced AI-driven features, in line with an expanded game engine. Meanwhile, higher memory bandwidth will allow the PS6 to transfer textures, geometry, and other world data faster, potentially eliminating stuttering.
The Digital Trends report further adds that the rumored configuration may involve non-standard memory splitting, potentially reserving a portion of the total memory for system operations while dynamically allocating the rest for games.
Sony has yet to officially announce the PlayStation 6, nor share any details about its specifications or release schedule. Recent reports suggest that the next-generation console may be delayed until after 2028, as Sony aims to extend the PS5’s life cycle, which could last at least eight years before the next-generation PlayStation console arrives.
