PS6 expected to cost Sony $760 in per unit, $699 shelf price still possible

A renowned hardware leaker in the PC tech space, known for leaking GPU architecture details and being quite spot-on about them, has revealed the cost of materials for Sony's upcoming PlayStation 6.

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KeplerL2 took to the NeoGAF forums to share their estimate of the BOM, or Bill of Materials, for the PlayStation 6, and according to the leaker, that figure is currently $760. While the estimated cost of each PS6 is $760, Kepler writes that it is "still possible" for Sony to sell the console at $699. Those figures may be confusing to some, but they do make sense. The last console Sony released that made a profit on each unit was the PS4, with the PS3 famously launching at a loss, and the PS5's price was lower than manufacturing costs.

Sony makes up for this loss with other revenue streams generated by the platform, such as PS Store cuts, subscriptions, and game sales. Microsoft isn't any different either: the Xbox 360 initially sold at a loss, the Xbox One was near break-even or even slightly loss-making, and the Xbox Series X didn't make a profit on a per-console basis. Nintendo takes a very different approach; the Nintendo Switch made a profit per unit at launch in 2017, along with the Wii and DS.

As for when we could see Sony release the PS6, recent reports citing other KeplerL2 suggest both Microsoft and Sony are on track to release their new consoles sometime throughout the holiday season in 2027. However, given the current hardware situation as a result of the demand for powering AI, it's possible all these prices/expected launch windows will change.