New information from reliable leaker ‘Billbil-kun’ could give us our first glimpse at what the long-awaited PlayStation 5 Pro could look like.
In a new report posted on the French-language website dealabs blog (which we machine translated) ‘Billbil-kun’ claims to have seen the front of the final packaging for the upcoming system. They confirm that it will be called the ‘PS5 Pro’ and state that while they can’t post a photo “for copyright reasons”, they can offer a basic sketch.
I created the mock-up above based on this sketch and some written information in the report, using an official image of the existing PS5 Slim as a starting point. ‘Billbil-kun’ claims that the PS5 Pro will have a design “very similar” to the PS5 Slim, with a white exterior and two USB-C ports on the front along with the power button.
The biggest visible design difference between the PS5 Slim and the PS5 Pro will apparently be the presence of three black grooves on the sides of the console. The leaker also believes that the upcoming console will be slightly thicker than the PS5 Slim. Such a design would certainly make a lot of sense and seems quite reminiscent of the jump from the PS4 to the PS4 Pro.
‘Billbil-kun’ states that the packaging they saw did not indicate the presence of a disc drive. This could indicate compatibility with the existing Disc Drive For PS5 Digital Edition insert, or a move to a digital-only console (though the latter seems unlikely given the strong physical sales of many of the best PS5 games). Ultimately, we’ll have to wait and see whether this is the case.
As for a release window, the leaker believes an announcement could be made as early as next month. This would certainly fall in line with much of the conversation I heard from developers and partners at Gamescom 2024, who seem to already be aware of the console’s existence and expect official news soon.
