The AI revolution is hitting gaming hard. Sony’s next-gen PlayStation 6 (PS6), developed with AMD, faces a potential delay to 2028 or even 2029 due to a worsening global semiconductor shortage fueled by explosive AI demand, according to a new Bloomberg report.
Internal Delays at Sony Spark Concern
Sources close to Sony told Bloomberg that the company is rethinking its PS6 timeline amid skyrocketing chip prices and vanishing stockpiles. High-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips—critical for advanced consoles—are being snapped up by AI giants like Nvidia, leaving consumer tech firms like Sony scrambling.
This isn’t the first chip crisis for PlayStation. The PS5 launch in 2020 was hampered by similar shortages, and now history might repeat as AI data centers gobble up supply. Sony CFO Lin Tao recently hinted at this, noting the PS5 is “only in the middle of its journey” with plans to stretch its lifecycle beyond the typical seven years.
AI Boom’s Ripple Effects on Gaming
Chipmakers like TSMC and Samsung are ramping production, but priorities favor AI over gaming. AI firms pay premium prices, funding what some call a “Titanic-bound bubble.” The fallout is already evident: PC gamers face SSD shortages, with Samsung reportedly halting some manufacturing.
For consoles, this could mean prolonged PS5 dominance, enhanced Pro models, or cloud gaming pushes. Leaked PS6 specs suggest AMD Zen 5 CPUs and RDNA 4 GPUs, but without chips, it’s vaporware.
Sony hasn’t commented officially, but the PS6 guide here outlines rumored features. Gamers, brace for a longer PS5 era.