- Reports that Advanced Micro Devices won contract to produce chips for next generation of the console
- AMD fought of competition from Intel to win the contract
- PlayStation 6 yet to be announced – Sony has just launched PS5 Pro
The chips for the PlayStation 6 will be produced by Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) according to reports, having beaten Intel to the contract.
Competitive tendering process
Reuters has quoted unnamed sources that said Intel lost out to AMD in a competitive tendering process. AMD designed the chip used in the PlayStation 5.
The contract to produce the chip is worth billions of dollars in revenue, given how many consoles are sold – often more than 100 million. AMD also fought off competition from Broadcom to secure the contract.
Reuters noted that had Intel won the contract, it could have risked backwards compatibility – something that PlayStations usually have and is popular with gamers as it means games on the previous iteration of the console can be played on the new one. A switch to Intel could have made it costly to ensure backwards compatibility was maintained.
Tight-lipped
Thus far, Sony has refused to comment on the report from Reuters. Neither has it formally announced that the PS6 is in development. Likewise, AMD is also staying tight-lipped on the report.
Intel has commented, mostly to refute Reuters’ characterization of the story as the company losing the business. The company added that it doesn’t comment on customer conversations, and it has a healthy customer pipeline across its product and foundry business.
Meanwhile, Sony recently announced the pricing for its PlayStation 5 Pro, which has caused controversy in the gaming community. The PS5 Pro will cost $700 when it is released later this year, but gamers are not happy about it and have made their feelings known on social media.
