We might be getting a PS5 Slim release soon as a Microsoft legal document as a part of the company’s ongoing court case with the FTC reveals that the company is expecting Sony’s PlayStation brand to launch a slimmer version of the PS5 at $399.99 sometime “later this year,” as reported by VGC.
This aligns with a previous Insider Gaming story from last year, which revealed Sony was reportedly planning to launch a PS5 revision featuring a detachable disc drive targeting a September 2023 release at the time of reporting. The refreshed version of PlayStation’s current console is expected to be thinner, and similar to PS5’s current hardware releases, the PS5 Slim will be sold in two variants – one with a detachable disc drive and one without.
The latter would be the assumed cheaper version than the PS5 Digital Edition. However, if you miss out on the detachable disc drive version of the PS5 Slim, the detachable drive will reportedly be sold separately. This PS5 Slim is claimed to replace the PS5’s original hardware lineup.
The disc drive would free extra weight to the current PS5 (disc version) and its refreshed internals but would add one extra USB-C port in the back for users picking up the device to plug the disc drive into. Microsoft also believes that Sony is also preparing to launch a Pro version of the PS5 in the near future. However, nothing was expanded if both versions of the PS5 console would release simultaneously, similar to the PS4 Slim and PS4 Pro’s 2016 launch.
“PlayStation, meanwhile, currently offers two different versions of the PlayStation 5—one with a Blu-Ray player for physical media (Standard) and one without (Digital)—and is anticipated to release further differentiated Pro and Slim models in the near future,” Microsoft detailed in a legal document.
Another hardware release is Sony’s upcoming handheld; Project Q is set to stream PS5 games from console to handheld via remote play over Wi-Fi. No details on when the device is launching, but the Microsoft legal document says that Project Q is also targeting a 2023 launch and is aiming for a price point under $300 USD.
