PS6 leaks: 1TB SSD, no optical drive, lower retail price than production cost.

Previously, we reported that the reputable hardware source Kepler_L2 revealed that the production cost of the PS6 is around $760 (approximately 19,000,000 VND), but Sony will subsidize (sell at a loss) to bring the retail price down to $699.

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Recently, in an interview with WccfTech, when asked about storage and drive configurations within this price range, Kepler_L2 stated that the PS6 will come with a 1TB SSD and no optical drive.

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This information surprised and even worried many users, especially given the ever-increasing size of games. However, he also explained that this is one of the easiest ways to reduce production costs. Furthermore, if the PS6 development kit (SDK) supports AI-powered texture compression (neural texture compression), game sizes could even be smaller than they were on the PS5.

According to WccfTech's analysis, this technology could be AMD's Neural Texture Block Compression or a similar solution from NVIDIA. Since the PS6 is likely to still use AMD hardware, the first option seems more plausible.

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However, since AMD announced its research in July 2024, there have been virtually no significant updates. Meanwhile, NVIDIA has released a test SDK that supports both AMD and Intel hardware, so Sony could certainly choose this option if it wants a more stable solution.

Regardless of the approach, the potential of this compression technology is enormous: initial tests show that compression efficiency can be up to seven times higher than the current BC7 standard. This means a 150GB game could theoretically be reduced to around 21–22GB.

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Furthermore, leaked information also reveals another major change: the PS6 may completely eliminate physical discs, or users will have to purchase separate external drives. This trend has actually been present since the PS5 (2020) with its digital version. Given the shrinking physical disc market, a complete shift to digital distribution after 2027 is not entirely unexpected, although it will certainly displease some collectors.