A document in the case between Microsoft and the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has confirmed the previously rumored console.

The document can be found here, and it says that Sony is planning to release a redesigned PlayStation 5 this year (as the internal components are being modified more frequently), and would charge the same price in the US as the PlayStation 5 Digital Edition currently costs $400. Let’s not forget that Sony has not dared to raise the price in America because of the fierce competition with Microsoft…

The PlayStation 5 Slim is no surprise; there have been smaller (and cheaper!) variants of all four PlayStations so far, although the PS1 was called PS One. With a 2023 release date, according to Microsoft, Sony should be unveiling a redesigned, smaller console soon (maybe around Gamescom, as Nintendo will be there, and maybe their next platform will be revealed there… or maybe at the Tokyo Game Show?), which might just be released without a Blu-ray drive given the pricing. So the rumors of a Blu-ray drive that can be separately connected and purchased might be true. (However, it will be anti-consumer if the optical drive can’t be connected to the PlayStation 5 Digital Edition already on the market…)

Interestingly, a PlayStation 5 Pro is also mentioned in Microsoft’s document. Given that the PlayStation 4 has also received a half-generation update, it shouldn’t be that big of a surprise. (Microsoft will likely not follow suit, as they think the Xbox Series X will fill the role…) While that’s not official yet, what is is that Sony has announced a handheld called Project Q that will be used for Remote Play (and we don’t know much more about it).

So this court case has a positive side: it reveals a lot about Sony’s and Microsoft’s plans (admittedly, sometimes thanks to bad censorship…).

Source: WCCFTech