Sony will be releasing a new PlayStation 5 model next year, and it appears to be slimmer than the current model in stores and in homes at the moment.

The coming year, 2023, marks the third year of the PS5 in the market, and Sony can be expected to release new hardware related to the popular gaming console at this time, CNet noted. This new hardware is said to come in a slimmer form compared to what's currently available for consumers.

News of the slimmer PS5 came by way of Insider Gaming, which said the new console could be released as soon as September 2023.

Insider Gaming's sources, who remain anonymous, say the new PS5 will feature the same hardware as that of the current PS5 but will have a detachable disc drive that connects to the main console using an extra USB-C port located at the back of the gaming machine.

Sources told the outlet that while the said disc drive is detachable, it will in no way negatively affect how the PS5 looks. They added that the disc drive will not look like an external hard drive when attached to the console, which means the new PS5 model might look the same way as that of the current model.

Insider Gaming added that the new PS5 could be sold in different ways:

  • First, the new PS5 console could be sold on its own.
  • Second, the new PS5 console might be sold bundled with the detachable disc drive.
  • Third, the new detachable disc drive could be sold on its own, so that consumers won't need to buy a new console once the drive gets damaged or destroyed.

This news is but rumor at the moment, which means readers and excited PS5 fans should take it with a grain of salt and instead wait for Sony to make official announcements.

The rumored PS5 iteration, however, appears to be a bigger revision compared to the ones Sony released after the first PS5 was sold in the market.

These PS5 models, seen as minor updates to the original console, feature streamlined components that lowered the PS5's weight and made it easy to carry.

Insider Gaming's source said these first models, dubbed A, B, and C chassis, were in production since the first PS5. Sony expects to sell only 12 million units of these models next year as they "begin to be phased out," the outlet said.

The new model is dubbed the D chassis PlayStation 5.