Reportedly, Sony Has Selected AMD Over Intel for The PlayStation 6

The PS5 Pro release is right around the corner and we are already getting news of what is coming after it (PlayStation 6). The next generation of PlayStation consoles will have AMD hardware. Despite Intel trying their best to get the contact the ball has landed in AMD’s court.

The way things are, it is certain that AMD might be powering both Microsoft’s and Sony’s consoles. I am using the word might because Microsoft’s situation is not known yet. Things could have turned out differently because according to Reuters AMD and Intel were engaged in the bidding for supplying chips to the next generation of the PlayStation’s console.

Intel and AMD were the final contenders which raises a question about the other chip makers in play. Broadcom was also involved in the bidding but the involvement of other chip makers is not clear. If things had gotten different we could have seen consoles with Intel CPU and Nvidia’s GPU.

Intel is the biggest threat to AMD’s reign when it comes to console hardware. One of the major reasons for Intel’s attempt to get into the console market is to get stable financial footing which it is struggling to get. Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger had this to say about their disappointing quarter .” Intel also announced a big round of layoffs—15,000 workers, or 15% of its global workforce—to navigate “tough days ahead.”

Getting the contract for PS6 chip supply would be a big win for Intel even if the profit margin in segments is lower compared to data centers and others. The profit margin for each chip sold was the issue that was stated as “blocked Intel from settling on the price with Sony,” It resulted in AMD winning the bidding for the PlayStation 6.

It Could Have Been Intel

Discussions regarding the deal supposedly took place in 2022. Negotiations lasted for months between Sony and Intel. There were multiple meetings between engineers and executives. A discussion segment could have been about the backward compatibility of hardware.

In response to the report, Intel stated “We strongly disagree with this characterization but are not going to comment about any current or potential customer conversations. We have a very healthy customer pipeline across both our product and foundry business, and we are squarely focused on innovating to meet their needs,”

The end results of the whole negotiations show that AMD has secured its position as the chip supplier for future PlayStation consoles including PlayStation 6. It remains to be seen what hardware Xbox will use for future consoles.