PS6 price: memory alone may cost Sony over $680

The PlayStation 6 does not have a price yet, but a new leak suggests it will not be cheap. Hardware leaker KeplerL2 claims the memory and storage chips inside Sony's next console now cost "over $680" per unit on their own. That is more than a standard PS5 sells for today, and it leaves out the processor, cooling, power supply and everything else in the box.

Sony has not confirmed any of this, and it has not announced a PS6 price, release date or specs. Here is what the leak actually says, what Sony has said on the record, what PS5 consoles cost right now, and why a $1,000 PS6 is now being discussed seriously.

What the PS6 memory cost leak says

KeplerL2 posted the claim on the NeoGAF forum, replying to a user who suggested Sony could subsidise the PS6 and launch it at $680. According to VGC, KeplerL2 wrote that "RAM + NAND alone" is over $680 per console, and added that these parts cost far less when Sony finalised the console's design. RAM is the fast working memory games run in. NAND is the flash memory used for the console's built-in SSD storage.

VGC describes KeplerL2 as an insider who has accurately reported on AMD hardware before. Even so, this is a single forum post with no published breakdown. It is not clear whether the figure reflects the contract prices Sony actually pays or current market prices, and the leak does not say how much storage it assumes.

Earlier leaks, also unconfirmed by Sony, point to GDDR7 memory on a 160-bit bus with room for up to 40GB, with 30GB seen as the more likely amount, TechPowerUp reports. There have also been reports that Sony looked at shipping less memory to save money. OC3D notes that a 20GB console would be only a small step up from the PS5's 16GB.

How the leaked PS6 cost estimates have climbed

This is not the first time KeplerL2 has put a number on the PS6. TechPowerUp says that in March he estimated the console's bill of materials, the total cost of its parts, at around $760. By July that estimate had climbed to roughly $960. Now memory and storage alone are said to cost more than $680.

The reason is the same one hitting phones, laptops and graphics cards: AI data centres are buying up huge amounts of memory and storage chips, which pushes prices up for everyone else. A parts cost does not set the shop price, because console makers can sell hardware at a loss and make the money back on games and subscriptions. But the bigger that loss, the longer it takes to recover, which is why rising parts costs limit how cheap a launch price can be.

What Sony has said about the PS6 price and release date

Officially, very little. On Sony's earnings call on May 8, 2026, CEO Hiroki Totoki said, through Sony's interpreter: "We have not yet decided on at what timing we will launch the new console, or at what prices." He added that memory prices are "expected to be very high" in Sony's 2027 financial year because supply will still be short, "so under that assumption, we must think carefully what we will do", VGC reported.

Totoki said Sony had already secured the memory it needs for the rest of 2026 and had largely agreed on the price. He also said Sony would look at other ways to cut hardware costs and would consider "changing business models", without saying what that might mean. In August, The Wall Street Journal reported that many analysts had expected the PS6 next year, but that those expectations had drifted further out because of the component shortage, as quoted by GamingBible.

So the honest answer is that nobody outside Sony knows the PS6 price or launch date, and Sony says it has not decided either yet.

PS5 and PS5 Pro prices right now

The best clue to where PS6 pricing could land is what Sony charges today. Sony raised PS5 prices worldwide from April 2, 2026, its second rise in under a year. According to the PlayStation Blog, US prices are now $649.99 for the PS5, $599.99 for the PS5 Digital Edition and $899.99 for the PS5 Pro. In the UK they are £569.99, £519.99 and £789.99, and in Europe €649.99, €599.99 and €899.99 (prices checked Oct 18, 2026).

For context, the PS5 Digital Edition launched at $399.99 in 2020, so it now costs $200, or 50%, more than it did at launch, which VGC also points out. The PS5 Pro launched at $699.99 in 2024 and is now $200 more. Sony's price post does not list India; it tells buyers in other regions to check local retailers.

Will the PS6 cost $1,000?

It is possible, but not confirmed. TechPowerUp says that if memory prices stay where they are, a PS6 that costs a lot more than the PS5 Pro looks likely and a $1,000 price now looks "quite possible". OC3D goes further and says the console will likely cost over $1,000 unless memory prices fall before launch. Both are reading the same leak, not Sony's plans.

Industry analysts are split on the base model. Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, as quoted by VGC, Aldora CEO Joost van Dreunen said: "At this rate, the next generation may not even release until 2028, and when it does, north of a grand is the floor." Newzoo's Manu Rosier was more cautious: "The PS5 Pro is already at $899 after two hikes inside a year, so the distance to $1,000 is short," he said, but he expects base next-generation models "to hold under $999 for psychological and marketing reasons", with pricier premium versions a separate question.

Gaming hardware has already crossed that line elsewhere. Valve's Steam Machine costs $1,049, as we covered at its launch. Whether Sony follows will depend on how much it is willing to lose on each console, which models it sells, and where memory prices are when it finally launches.

What about the next Xbox?

Microsoft faces the same problem. It has confirmed a next-generation Xbox codenamed Project Helix, and Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has warned that "memory costs will impact pricing, will impact availability", GamesIndustry.biz reported. Like Sony, Microsoft has said it is looking at new business models to cover rising hardware costs, and it has not announced a price or release date.

Should you buy a PS5 now or wait for the PS6?

If you want to play now, waiting for the PS6 makes little sense. There is no release date, Sony says it has not picked one, and every sign points to the next console costing more than today's machines, not less. Grand Theft Auto VI is also due on PS5 on November 19, 2026.

If you already own a PS5, there is no rush either. The PS6 is unlikely to arrive soon, and the first real price signal will come from Sony itself, not from a forum post. Treat any PS6 price you see today, including $1,000, as an educated guess.

Top photo: a PS5 Pro next to its retail box. (Photo: BeatEmUps / CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons)