PlayStation 6 console will use AMD tech, not Intel reveals new report

Only days after the PS5 Pro was officially announced, rumours suggest that Sony has already settled on the technology for use in the PS6.

Given most consoles last for around six years, before they’re superseded, under normal circumstances it would be reasonable to expect the PlayStation 6 to be released around 2026, and for detailed rumours, and perhaps even official hints, to start circulating right about now.

Many expected that the slow start to this generation, caused by the pandemic, would delay that timetable by a year or two but that doesn’t seem to be happening at all. Sony has already been talking about the PlayStation 6 this week and now a detailed rumour suggests they’ve made a deal with AMD to create the next gen console’s core hardware technology.

Information from Reuters suggests that Intel was originally under consideration to design and fabricate the PlayStation 6’s main chips, but that Sony has ultimately decided to go with AMD – who already make the chips for the PlayStation 5.

Supposedly, both AMD and Intel bid for the work, with Broadcom also involved at an earlier stage of the process.

Rather than AMD being picked because of its greater level of experience in the games industry, apparently the primary sticking point between Sony and Intel was simply how big a cut of profits the latter was entitled to.

A deal was never reached, and so Sony went with the cheaper AMD option. However, potential problems with backwards compatibility, if Sony had switched to Intel technology, was also a factor – not that it would’ve been impossible, but it would’ve been more expensive.

It’s not entirely clear where in the process Sony is now but apparently the discussions between Sony and Intel ‘took months in 2022’.

That suggests that a launch of the PlayStation 6 within the next two to three years is very likely, especially as Microsoft has already announced a next gen Xbox and Sony will not want to be caught out by that.

The Reuters article is actually more interested in the Intel side of the story, and how this will upset their plans to become a contract manufacturer like AMD – a double blow given they are already losing out to the company in terms of chips intended for AI use.

If these details are leaking out at this stage, and given how much accurate information was known about the PS5 Pro for months in advance, it seems inevitable that we’ll be learning a lot more about the PlayStation 6 in the near future.