75%
Probable
AMD leaker Kepler_L2 has provided more info on the likely base spec of Sony's PlayStation 6 (PS6) console.
The insider has been one of the most prolific sources of information on both the PS6 and its main competitor, Microsoft's next Xbox console codenamed Project Helix, alongside content creator Moore's Law Is Dead. Both consoles will be powered by AMD's RDNA 5 and Zen 6 architectures, after all, and Kepler_L2 has a historically proven track record for AMD leaks.
A few days ago, the leaker shared on the NeoGAF board that the bill of materials, essentially the list of how much Sony would pay for each component included in the console, was coming up at $760 in his estimation. Kepler_L2 added that Sony could subsidize (essentially sell at a loss, as they already did with past console generations) it down to $699 for the retail price, but that's not a guarantee this time around.
As a follow-up, a NeoGAF user asked the leaker what configuration was included in that estimate when it comes to drive and disc, and the reply was: 1TB SSD with no disc. The response surprised and worried other users, especially because of the rise in game sizes, but Kepler_L2 has now clarified why that's the likely choice Sony is going to make:
It's the most obvious area to cut costs, and if PS6 SDK supports neural texture compression, game sizes could even be smaller than PS5.
Here's where it gets interesting. It is unclear whether the leaker is referring to AMD's own Neural Texture Block Compression technique or NVIDIA's similar Neural Texture Compression. You'd think the former, since the PS6 is powered by AMD hardware, but that's not necessarily the case.
Firstly, there's been no further news about NTBC since the original paper was released in July 2024. On the other hand, NVIDIA has already publicly shared the SDK of a pre-release version of Neural Texture Compression, and critically, it supports AMD (and Intel) hardware, too. It's possible Sony might choose it for its new console simply because it's actually ready. NTC would indeed help a great deal in reducing game sizes: early testing shows that it saves up to 7X more than the current compression standard (BC7). A 150GB game could weigh just 21-22GB.
There's another side to the rumor: Sony's new console would ditch discs for good. That's been the direction for some time, as evidenced by the PS5 offering a digital-only edition since the launch in 2020. Over the past six years, the retail market has continued to shrink, and PS6 focusing just on digital gaming in 2027+ makes sense. Still, collectors won't be happy if it turns out to be true.
For those looking for more info on the next-generation consoles, we've got dedicated hub pages for the PS6 and the next Xbox, plus a direct comparison between the two.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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