Insider Claims PS6 and Xbox Helix Chips Have Taped Out, With Notable 40 vs. 56 TFLOPS Gap

If you have been curious about where exactly the development of PlayStation 6 and Xbox Project Helix has reached, a prominent insider has spilled some beans. The latest details come from AMD hardware tipster KeplerL2, who says that the chips for PlayStation 6 and Xbox Helix have now taped out.

Xbox Helix could have a serious hardware advantage

Per the tipster, the PS6 chip is targeting around 40 TFLOPS, while the Xbox Helix chip could reach around 56 TFLOPS. If those figures hold, Microsoft’s next Xbox would have a sizeable advantage in raw GPU compute.

The reported 56 TFLOPS figure is certainly the more interesting part here. It would put Helix well ahead of the reported 40 TFLOPS target for PS6, although TFLOPS alone does not tell us how a console will perform in actual games.

The two systems are also expected to benefit from AMD’s next-generation architecture. Previous reports have pointed toward Zen 6 CPUs and RDNA 5 graphics, but those details have not been officially confirmed for either console.

Microsoft has confirmed that its next Xbox is being developed with AMD custom silicon. The company has also described the system as a major step toward bringing Xbox and PC gaming closer together.

PS6 and Helix are reportedly moving into the next phase

The claimed tape-out is another interesting part of the report. Once a chip reaches tape-out, its design is sent off for manufacturing, although that does not mean the final console hardware is ready. There can still be testing, validation and revisions before these chips end up inside retail hardware. More importantly, 40 TFLOPS and 56 TFLOPS remain unconfirmed figures for now.

Sony and Microsoft have yet to reveal the full hardware specifications of their next-generation consoles, so there is still plenty to learn about PS6 and Xbox Helix.