PlayStation 4 helped AMD avoid bankruptcy – Senior Director Confirms

Without PlayStation, AMD wouldn’t be the company it is today

Today, AMD is a highly profitable business, but a decade ago the company was in a bad position. The release of AMD’s Bulldozer CPU architecture was a disaster, and it came after the release of Intel’s highly successful Sandy Bridge lineup. At the time, many thought that AMD was on the road to bankruptcy, and it looks like Sony’s PlayStation 4 was a one of the products that saved the company.

On his LinkedIn profile, Renato Fragile, a senior director at the company, has confirmed that PlayStation 4 played a role in “helping AMD to avoid bankruptcy”. The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One are both AMD-powered consoles. Both systems launched in late 2013, a time where AMD desperately needed revenue. Both systems were successful, but the PlayStation 4 sold way more units overall. As such, PlayStation 4 played a larger role in saving AMD from financial ruin.

Over 100 million PlayStation 4 consoles have sold during the system’s lifespan, and AMD were able to generate revenue from each of those console sales. Even now, console hardware sales are a major earner for AMD. Today, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S all feature AMD processors.

(Image from Renato Fragale’s LinkedIn page)

Since the launch of PlayStation 4, AMD’s fortunes have changed. The release of their first Zen-powered Ryzen CPUs in 2017 saw AMD regain a foothold within the CPU market. Now, AMD and Intel are battling head-to-head for market share. In the GPU market, AMD has had mixed fortunes, with Nvidia being the clear market leader. Regardless, AMD is still a gaming leader within the console space. Beyond that, AMD has pioneered the creation of new gaming platforms with PC handhelds like the ROG Ally and Valve Steam Deck.

AMD’s financial woes are behind them, but could you imagine a world where AMD went bankrupt?

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