Sony’s upcoming PlayStation 6 console may end up retailing for above $1,000, as a new rumour indicates that the total bill of materials (BOM) has now risen to $960. Leaker Kepler_L2 previously estimated the PlayStation 6’s BOM to be around $760, but due to the continued shortages of memory and storage products, Sony’s next-gen machine is now apparently costing Sony $200 more to make.
Previous PlayStation 6 performance rumours posited a tripling in rasterisation pace compared to the PS5, but it looks as though this will come at a great cost to the end user. Regardless of whether Sony sells the console for a healthy profit margin or below cost, the starting retail price is unlikely to go below $800 if Kepler_L2’s estimation is accurate.
While we don’t know if this rumoured BOM relates to the cheaper digital edition or the disc version, it looks as though the PS6 is unlikely to match early or even current PS5 pricing. Sony can only subsidise the PlayStation 6 cost to a certain degree via sales of accessories, games, and its PSN and PS Plus subscriptions, after all.
While this price estimation is somewhat alarming, it’s not surprising either, considering the state of hardware prices. Valve’s new Steam Machine is a great example, demanding $1,049 for low to mid-range specs that apparently targeted a $750 tag before the AI industry siphoned off all memory stocks. Even Sony’s competitor Microsoft has been forced to increase its Xbox Series X prices to $750 ($800 for the disc version), and that’s for a nearly six-year-old machine.
Kepler_L2 also indicated that if prices keep going up, delaying the console would actually be worse than releasing it right away. Even if Sony decides to delay the release to a more prosperous time, there won’t be any hardware upgrades, as the specs will have already been locked in for a long time. However, if material costs return to normal in 2028 or 2029, then we can expect Sony to drop the MSRP, as it did with the PS3.
While Sony has yet to confirm the PlayStation 6’s specifications, launch date, and price, rumours and market reality paint a grim picture. Sony can still save the day by heavily subsidising its console in the hope of recouping some of its losses via its online services, but nothing is certain. If PlayStation is your main platform for gaming, you still have time to save some cash before the rumoured 2028 release date.
