PlayStation 5 with removable drive from 2023?

Sony’s current PlayStation 5 console has been available for about two years and is offered with or without an optical drive. To date, however, the availability of the consoles is severely limited and securing one of the devices borders on a gamble. Now, a new rumor is making the rounds that Sony might only offer the PlayStation 5 with a detachable drive starting next year.

PlayStation 5 with detachable drive?

Responsible for the rumor is well-known leaker and insider Tom Henderson, who reports on the new PlayStation 5 model on his new website insider-gaming.com. In it, he announces a new variant of the console for mid-2023, which will reportedly be released in September 2023.

As a source, Henderson cites people said to be familiar with Sony’s plans but wishing to remain anonymous. It is expected to completely replace the PS5’s current A, B and C chassis, which have been offered since its release about two years ago.

“The console, currently referred to as the PlayStation 5’s D chassis, will offer nearly identical hardware to existing consoles on the market,” Henderson said. With one important difference: the console’s disc drive will be removable and connect to the PS5 using an additional USB Type-C port on the back.

Offered in a bundle or individually

Furthermore, the insider states that the new PlayStation 5 model will be offered both individually – at a lower price – and in a bundle with the detachable Blu-ray disc drive.

Of course, the drive will also be available separately. It is conceivable that it can also be used with the current Digital Edition of the PlayStation 5, which is delivered without the drive.

In terms of design, the drive should “not ruin the aesthetics of the console”and can be attached to the PS5 without looking like an external drive. Whether the console itself will feature the same design as previous variants or come out thinner and lighter remains to be seen.

More compact design revisions have been a tradition with Sony consoles since the first PlayStation. Released in 1995, the PlayStation was replaced five years later by the more compact PSone. The PlayStation 2 in 2000 was followed four years later by the PlayStation 2 Slim.

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Old PS5 to be discontinued

Furthermore, Henderson states that Sony plans to produce 18.5 million units of the new PlayStation 5 with detachable drive in 2023 and reduce production of the already available A, B and C chassis to 12 million units to slowly phase them out.

Despite its difficult availability, the PS5 is a real box office hit. As of June 2022 Sony announced that it had shipped over 21.7 million PlayStation 5 consoles worldwide. However, they are still hard to come by due to the ongoing semiconductor crisis.

In January 2022, sales started directly from the manufacturer, which required registration; in June, the hardware was on Amazon only with an invitation link. Whether the new PS5 model will improve the availability of the console can still be doubted.