A new leak has potentially shed more light on the performance and specs we can expect from Sony’s next-gen PlayStation 6 console, claiming it offers up to 3x the raster and 12x the ray tracing performance of the current PS5, targeting 4K TVs running at 120Hz. The leak, which comes from YouTube channel Moore’s Law is Dead (MLID), also mentions a portable version of the PlayStation 6, which is expected to offer a powerful alternative to the Steam Deck and Xbox ROG Ally X.
With this generation, Sony is reportedly planning a hybrid console lineup, comprising a strong living room machine and a portable handheld with backwards game compatibility. The former would be set to compete against Microsoft’s Xbox Helix/Magnus, while the latter will have to take on Nintendo’s Switch system. Both are said to be based on AMD’s Zen 6 CPU and RDNA 5 graphics architectures, giving them access to the latest tech and features.
Specifically, the living room version of the PlayStation 6, code-named Orion, is expected to boast 2.5x-3x higher raster performance and 6-12x the ray tracing performance of PS5. It seemingly even surpasses the latest PS5 Pro variant by 2x in raster and 3-6x in ray tracing. When factoring FSR 4 / PSSR 3, or whatever it ends up being called, into the equation, the PlayStation 6 is expected to outperform a PS5 by roughly 8x.
All of this is reportedly made possible thanks to a new 280mm² RDNA 5 GPU packed inside the console, which MLID says offers 52 active compute units (CU) out of a 54 CU design, clocked up to 3GHz. To put this into perspective, according to the same source, the next-gen Xbox is said to carry a massive GPU with 70 CUs measuring 408mm².
On the CPU side, the PlayStation 6 is expected to house a Zen 6 CPU, comprising seven or eight Zen 6c cores, plus two Zen 6 LP cores clocked between 4GHz and 5GHz. This design is unlike the rumoured Xbox Magnus layout, which reportedly doesn’t have LP cores dedicated to the OS. Both the CPU and GPU are expected to be manufactured using a flavour of TSMC’s N3 node.
In terms of RAM, MLID says the PlayStation 6 supports up to 40GB of GDDR7 on a 160-bit bus, giving it 640GB/s of total bandwidth. That said, the latest rumours indicate it will only ship with 30GB of total RAM, which is a respectable though not groundbreaking jump over the PS5’s 16GB of GDDR6. This spec will undoubtedly be dependent on RAM prices at the time, and whether Sony plans to release a PS6 Pro, which could advertise a higher 40GB memory capacity.
The leaker also mentions Sony’s next-gen portable console, codenamed Canis. This handheld machine is said to feature a custom APU packing four Zen 6c cores plus two Zen 6 LP cores, alongside 16 RDNA 5 CUs clocked up to 2GHz. This chip would apparently target a 15W TBP, while being linked to 24GB of LPDDR5x memory via a 192-bit bus. Most importantly, the PlayStation 6 Portable is expected to be backwards compatible with PS5 and PS4 games, potentially giving it a massive game catalogue at launch.
Lastly, the leaker dismissed rumours about a delay to late 2029 due to the ongoing memory shortage, indicating that, even in a worst case scenario, its launch wouldn’t go beyond early 2028, explaining that paying more for RAM during the first six months or so isn’t worth delaying the console. At the moment, the PlayStation 6 is rumoured to be launching by mid-2027, but Sony hasn’t made any official announcements about it yet.
