Project Helix more powerful than PS6 reveals new leak that implies 2027 launch

Only a year away, possibly (Metro)

Microsoft’s next Xbox will have more teraflops than Sony’s PS6 according to an insider, as more evidence points to a 2027 launch. 

Another console generation might seem like the last thing anyone needs right now, between pricey components and the underutilised potential of the current hardware, but that’s seemingly what we’re getting in 2027. 

Countless signs have pointed to a 2027 launch for Sony’s PlayStation 6 and Microsoft’s next gen Xbox console, codenamed Project Helix. This is based on various leaks, between the launch of certain AMD chips, manufacturing info, and the word of insiders. 

There’s every chance Sony and Microsoft could delay their respective consoles to 2028 and beyond, but more information has now emerged which only solidifies 2027, while giving an indication of what to expect in terms of performance. 

The news comes from insider Kepler_L2, who has a good track record when it comes to hardware leaks. In a thread on NeoGaf, the insider claims the chips for both consoles have been ‘taped out’. 

If you’re staring blankly into the distance, ‘taped out’ means the chip designs have been completed and they’re ready for the manufacturing process. In other words, the guts of the PlayStation 6 and Project Helix have both been finalised.

While we don’t know the timeline of when they were taped out exactly, it suggests both consoles will be ready to launch in late 2027 – as many already expected. 

Additionally, Kepler_L2 claims the PlayStation 6 will possess 40 teraflops, while Project Helix will have 56. A teraflop is used to measure the performance of processors and, in terms of gaming consoles, helps determine its graphical capabilities and rendering speed. 

As always, theoretically, the higher the number the better. However, there are other factors beyond teraflops which determine a console’s power, like the processor used and clock speed, so if Project Helix does have more teraflops than the PlayStation 6, it shouldn’t be taken as a definitive reflection of how each system will perform. 

When compared with the current generation though, if these are accurate, the teraflop leap is pretty substantial. The PS5 Pro has 16.7 teraflops, the base PlayStation 5 has 10.28, while the Xbox Series X has 12. 

As lovely as these big numbers sound though, they mean nothing without games that actually push the hardware. Over the current generation, we’ve seen how a lingering cross-gen overlap can hold the capabilities of a console back, and with the inevitably high cost of the PlayStation 6 and Project Helix, it’s very likely the same will happen again next time. 

The PS5 Pro launched in 2024 (Sony Interactive Entertainment)

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