Rumors about the next generation of consoles are heating up, with multiple sources now pointing to 2027 as the launch window for Sony's PlayStation 6 and Microsoft's new Xbox.
Sony and Microsoft have already confirmed that their next consoles will both use AMD chips.
With AMD chips, everything points to x86 CPU architecture, ensuring straightforward backward compatibility PS5, PS4, Xbox Series and Xbox One games. That said, it does not necessarily mean that games will perform optimally without 'optimization' from game developers.
We have also heard that PS6 will still support an optional disc drive. Microsoft has confirmed that the new Xbox will no longer be locked to the Xbox Store.
PlayStation 6 in 2027?
Two sources (Moore's Law is Dead and KeplerL2), who have previously leaked accurate information, now both claim to know that PlayStation 6 will launch in fall 2027, unless something unforeseen happens.
Mark Cerny, Lead System Architect for PlayStation, himself confirmed last week that a new PlayStation console is coming in "in a few years' time".
- "Overall, it is of course still very early days for these technologies, they only exist in simulation right now. But the results are quite promising and I'm really excited about bringing them to a future console in a few years' time," said Mark Cerny.
The comment came during a presentation with AMD, where Cerny discussed 3 new technologies from 'Project Amethyst', which has already brought us the much-debated AI upscaling feature PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR) in PlayStation 5 Pro. PSSR will be replaced in PS5 Pro by a firmware update in 2026, according to Sony.
The 3 new technologies are Neural Arrays, which group graphics cores to boost AI performance; Radiance Cores, new dedicated hardware for more realistic light reflections and similar effects (ray and path tracing); and Universal Compression, which compresses data sent to the GPU to save bandwidth, reduce power consumption and improve performance.
In addition to a stationary PS6 under the codename 'Orion', Sony is reportedly developing a handheld PS6 under the codename 'Canis'.
Next Xbox in 2027?
There has been increasing speculation that Microsoft is moving away from physical consoles to go all-in on cloud gaming, especially after Xbox consoles have started disappeared from store shelves in many countries.
However, on October 5, Microsoft dismissed the rumor:
- "We are actively investing in our future first-party consoles and devices designed, engineered and built by Xbox," said Microsoft.
Moore's Law is Dead now claims to know that a new Xbox console is coming in 2027. It is being developed under the codename 'Magnus'. Since the next Xbox will also use AMD chips, it is likely to feature many of the same new AMD technologies as PlayStation 6.
A 7-year console cycle
With x86 architecture, the two consoles are now tied to the PC ecosystem. Nintendo Switch 2, on the other hand, runs on ARM architecture with a chip from Nvidia – the same architecture used across the entire mobile ecosystem.
Rumors are circulating about the hardware and performance of the new consoles, but everything is still uncertain. However, a picture is emerging that the next Xbox will once again be more powerful than PS6. There is talk of AMD Zen 6 CPU cores, RDNA 5 GPU architecture, 4× higher AI performance and more than 30 GB of GDDR7 RAM in the consoles. Many more games are reportedly expected to run at 4K120.
By 2027, it will have been 7 years since PS5 and Xbox Series launched, which aligns with past console cycles.
- Source: Sony, Microsoft, Moore's Law is Dead, KeplerL2
