The PlayStation 6 and Next Xbox may not get double the RAM of current-generation systems as it may essentially be useless due to some reasons.
Digital Foundry's Richard Leadbetter recently commented on the amount of RAM next-generation consoles are expected to have. He doesn't think it will be doubled over the 16 GB of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, as memory costs aren't decreasing significantly, and adding an excessive amount of memory would be economically viable. Storage and software-based solutions have already seen a generational leap in the current generation of consoles, and they will likely continue doing the grunt work in the next generation as well.
This, however, doesn't mean that the PlayStation 6 and Xbox Next won't have more RAM than their predecessors, and the Xbox Next will likely have more than Sony's console if Microsoft makes its console more of a PC. Still, console manufacturers are likely going to take a more holistic approach to console design, as highlighted by the PlayStation 5 Pro, which will not feature double the GPU performance of the base model but will make up for it with software-based solutions like the PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution upscaler.
Talking about how much RAM the PlayStation 6 and the Xbox Next may need, Alexander Battaglia made some interesting comments, highlighting how there's a limitation in the production side that limits how much VRAM is actually needed. Filling the 16 GB RAM of the current generation consoles requires a huge amount of work, and filling more than that would require developers, for example, to go for some static solutions that would feature some unique special effects that would only show up once during a game. We are reaching a point of stagnation that may last a decade, where developers will have to figure out how much VRAM past a certain point will be necessary, and development will also change substantially, as more procedural solutions will limit how much VRAM is actually necessary.
Very little is currently known about the PlayStation 6 and the Xbox Next. We will probably learn sooner about the latter, as it is rumored to be scheduled for a 2026 launch.
About the author: Francesco De Meo has been covering video games and technology since 2012, starting his career at small outlets like Gamersyndrome and GeekSnack. After joining Wccftech gaming section in 2015, he quickly expanded his video gaming coverage with in-depth reporting, interviews with iconic industry figures such as Grasshopper Manufacture founder and No More Heroes creator Goichi "Suda51" Suda, Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami, Team NINJA's president and Nioh series director Fumihiko Yasuda, and Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, reviews and on-the-ground coverage of major industry events such as Gamescom and E3. When he's not reporting or reviewing, Francesco can be found playing the genres he loves most, spending time with his six cats, reading, writing music, playing guitar and drumming for his progressive rock band.
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