The PlayStation 6, PS6 Handheld and Project Helix May Still Launch Next Year

Despite several reports and analysts predicting that Sony and Microsoft may push back their next-generation console releases due to memory shortages, new claims from insider KeplerL2 suggest otherwise. According to the insider on NeoGAF, both companies are still planning to launch their consoles in Holiday 2027. The insider also claimed that the long-rumored Sony handheld console will launch around the same time.

This aligns with previous claims from YouTuber Moore’s Law Is Dead, who said earlier this month that Sony is unlikely to delay its console launch and is willing to take a hit on pricing despite the RAM shortages. He also claimed that the memory shortage is expected to be “significantly better” by the end of 2026 and “a lot better” by the tail end of 2027. It is worth noting that, for now, these claims should be taken with a grain of salt. However, Microsoft Gaming recently announced that it plans to ship development kits for the consoles to developers in 2027.

According to leaker and industry insider KeplerL2 on NeoGAF  last month, the PlayStation handheld console and the PlayStation 6 home console will feature 24GB and 30GB of GDDR7 RAM, respectively. This would be a notable increase from the 16GB of RAM found in the PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 Pro. The PlayStation 6 RAM modules are reportedly split across several 3GB modules, with the handheld using eight modules and the home console using ten. The PlayStation 6 system memory transfer speed is reportedly 32 GB/s and will be mounted on a 160-bit bus, totaling approximately 640GB/s of memory bandwidth across all modules on the motherboard.

When asked whether 24GB of RAM would be excessive for a handheld system and if 20GB would be sufficient, KeplerL2 responded, “20GB is not enough.” They added, “Yeah, an extra $100 to the [price] sucks, but they just have to deal with it for 1–2 years until prices come down.” The added cost is likely due to ongoing global memory shortages that have driven up RAM prices.

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