Summary
- The rumored slim version of the PlayStation 5 may launch soon, as legal documents from Microsoft suggest a release "later this year" at the same price as the current PS5 Digital Edition.
- While the leaked image of the supposed slim PS5 should be taken with a grain of salt, it suggests that the updated console is about 2 inches shorter than the original and has a detachable disc drive, with a noticeable split in the cover plates.
Talk of a slimline version of the PlayStation 5 has been doing the rounds for some time now as the console approaches its third year on the market, and a new image of what is rumored to be a PS5 "slim" has surfaced with some details of what the mid-generation refresh could look like. The PS5 has racked up a respectable library of great games and has outsold its main competitor, the Xbox Series X, by over 10 million units.
While the PS5 has been a highly successful console overall, there are those who are waiting for an updated version of the console; historically Sony has released a "slimline" version of each iteration of the PlayStation at around the 3-4 year mark after launch. Rumors of a leaner PS5 launching in 2023 were accompanied by talk of a PS5 Pro landing around 2025, but there has been no official word from Sony on the matter.
A supposedly leaked image of the "slimline" PlayStation 5 has been shared on Twitter by a user named Gust_FAN. Gust_FAN says that the source of the image is an individual from China who received a package with the new PS5, going on to say that they don't know how reliable the source is. According to the rumor the updated PS5 has a detachable disc drive and is about 2 inches shorter than the original PS5, while the thickness of the device remaining unchanged. Naturally this should be taken with a grain of salt. The image only shows the top half of what looks very much like the original PS5. The most noticeable difference is a split in the cover plates.
While the validity of this "leak" is questionable at best, a slim version of the PS5 may indeed launch soon. Legal documents from the Microsoft legal battle with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over the acquisition of Activision claim that a PS5 slim is expected to launch "later this year" at the same price point as the current PS5 Digital Edition.
Microsoft did not present any evidence to back up its claim, but with the 2023 holiday season fast approaching fans won't have to wait too long to find out if Sony will be launching a slim PS5 this year. One fan built his own custom slim PS5 and even managed to make it less than 1 inch thick, but not without some complications with the cooling system. The official PS5 slim will almost certainly be much more practical even if it isn't significantly more petite than the existing version.