A new version of the PS5 console has leaked online, as Sony looks to avoid another price increase by decreasing the amount of storage.
The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S might go down as the most inconsequential console generation, based on the improvements in graphics, but it’s also the least enticing from a financial perspective.
While most consoles in the past have received price cuts years after launch, Sony’s PlayStation 5 has done the opposite. Within three years, the price of the digital edition console (without a disc drive) has increased twice, by a total of £70, from £359.99 to £429.99. The standard console, meanwhile, has increased by £30 to £479.99 – something which third party publishers like Capcom are not happy about.
Sony has improved the PlayStation 5 through several hardware iterations, between the more compact Slim version and the expanded 1TB of storage, but a reliable leaker has revealed that the company is now planning on downgrading the console in the near future.
According to insider billbil-kun (via Dealabs), who has a very strong track record when it comes to retail leaks, Sony is developing a new version of the PlayStation 5 aimed at optimising production costs.
This new PlayStation 5 Slim model, labelled the CFI-2100 series (as found in Japanese certification documents), will see the storage space reduced from 1TB down to 825GB. This is the same amount of storage the original PlayStation 5 launch model came with, before it was bumped up to 1TB across the board.
According to the leaker, this reduction will only apply to the digital version of the console, so the PlayStation 5 Slim with a disc drive will still retain a 1TB SSD. Although of course the digital version needs it more than the one with the disc drive.
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It’s said this downgrade to the digital console has ‘only been observed’ in Europe for now, via packaging showing the ‘825GB’ label, so it’s unclear whether it’ll be released in other territories. This new version, which will presumably replace the current 1TB model, is slated to launch on September 13, 2025.
Incredibly, this downgraded version will carry the same €499 price in Europe as the current digital PlayStation 5 Slim console with more storage. As such, it will presumably retain the £429.99 price tag in the UK.
In other words, if true, anyone who buys a digital PlayStation 5 Slim after September 13 will have less storage – so if you’re thinking about picking the console up, you’re better off buying one sooner rather than later.
Sony has yet to officially announce this hardware revision, but it’s claimed this downgraded model is to avoid another price increase. However, based on Sony’s history and the current economic climate, we wouldn’t rule that out entirely at some point in the future.
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