The cause is a manufacturing problem with certain components necessary for the development of AMD processors used for both the PS5 and the Xbox Series X | S. It is indeed the ABF substrate, an insulating film essential to the manufacture of all latest generation processors, which is struggling to be made, because the demand for this material continues to increase. Moreover, it is not only AMD that needs it for its console and PC processors, the ABF substrate is also used by other devices such as 5G servers, the cloud, ASICs (cryptocurrency), and the FPGA and FCBGA chips found in connected cars. With high demand, prices keep rising, and substrate manufacturer ABF has warned customers that delivery time will take longer than expected. According to some observers, the shortage of ABF substrate could last until the end of 2021, which causes a snowball effect throughout the production chain.
Worse yet, even as Sony and Microsoft try to pressure AMD to get their next-gen consoles delivered as quickly as possible, the processor maker seems to favor more profitable customers, including Huawei which has ordered millions of processors. before Donald Trump’s administration boycotted the Chinese brand on American soil, the United States refusing to let China take over the manufacture of certain devices, in particular 5G antennas. Suffice to say that for AMD, supplying video game consoles like the PS5 and Xbox Series X | S is clearly not the manufacturer’s priority, which also needs to make a profit. Business if business as they say.
