PS6 RAM Rumor: Why Sony Might Move From 30GB to 24GB

That makes the rumor less about Sony suddenly abandoning performance and more about a classic console trade-off: how much hardware can fit inside a mass-market price.

Why AI data centers are affecting console hardware plans

The reports tie Sony’s possible memory rethink to the broader memory market. GameSpot, citing Bloomberg-related reporting and analysts, said the shortage of memory chips has been largely attributed to AI companies buying up available stock, and that rising RAM costs had created a “major upset” for Sony’s plans . Hypebeast also reported that spikes in RAM and NAND storage prices had disrupted Sony’s hardware strategy .

Gigazine separately reported that AI data-center construction is driving demand for memory and hard drives, and cited reports that data centers could consume 70% of memory supply in 2026 . Treat that as a reported forecast, not a confirmed Sony metric, but it explains the market logic: if AI infrastructure absorbs more DRAM and NAND supply, console makers may face higher component costs and less predictable availability .

For a PlayStation console, that matters because memory and storage are not optional luxuries. They shape the bill of materials, launch supply, developer targets, and retail pricing flexibility.

The reported $60 saving from a 128-bit bus

The key number in the latest report is about $60. Sina Finance reported that, at current GDDR7 pricing, moving from a 160-bit memory bus to a 128-bit bus could reduce the PS6 bill of materials by roughly $60 .

The report also says the narrower bus could help Sony reuse partially defective chips and improve SoC yield by disabling one memory controller, rather than requiring a major APU redesign . In other words, the savings would not only come from buying less memory; they could also come from better manufacturing economics.

That does not mean a 24GB PS6 would automatically be $60 cheaper at retail. A bill-of-materials saving gives Sony more room to manage margins, subsidies, regional pricing, exchange rates, and supply constraints.

30GB vs 24GB: the bandwidth trade-off

The older 30GB rumor described a 160-bit bus running at 32Gbps for about 640GB/s of bandwidth . If the same 32Gbps memory speed were paired with a 128-bit bus, the simple bandwidth calculation would be about 512GB/s.

That would be a meaningful cut from the rumored 160-bit design:

A 512GB/s figure would still sit above the base PS5’s cited 448GB/s bandwidth, but it would be below the PS5 Pro’s 576GB/s figure cited in some rumor roundups . That is why the bus-width rumor matters: 24GB would still be a capacity increase over PS5, but the bandwidth headroom would be less impressive than the earlier 30GB/160-bit claim.

What Sony has said about PS6 timing and price

Sony has not announced official PS6 specifications, a release date, or a price . Reports covering Sony’s May 2026 comments say the company had not decided the PS6’s launch timing or price, with memory shortages making planning harder .

The reporting on timing is mixed. TrendForce reported in March 2026 that Sony was still maintaining a 2027–2028 PS6 launch plan despite memory-cost concerns . Other reports, citing analysts and Bloomberg-related coverage, said the memory crunch could push the console toward 2028 or even 2029 .

The safest read is that the launch window is unsettled in public reporting. Any specific PS6 price should be treated as speculation until Sony announces it.

What this could mean for next-generation games

A 24GB PS6 would not be a small-memory console. Compared with the PS5’s 16GB pool, 24GB would represent a 50% increase . That should still give developers more room than the current generation for assets, simulation data, and system overhead.

But it would be a smaller leap than 30GB. If Sony also moved from a 160-bit to a 128-bit bus, the theoretical bandwidth under the same 32Gbps assumption would fall from about 640GB/s to about 512GB/s. That could make developers lean more heavily on storage streaming, compression, reconstruction, and upscaling techniques to produce a clearly next-generation jump without relying only on raw memory bandwidth.

The bottom line: the rumored 24GB/128-bit PS6 would be a price-and-supply compromise, not necessarily a weak console. It could help Sony avoid an expensive launch in a tight memory market, but it would reduce the headroom implied by the earlier 30GB/160-bit rumor. Until Sony confirms the hardware, the best way to read these reports is as a sign of the economic pressure shaping next-generation console design—not as final PS6 specifications.