PS5 Pro leak hints that it might not come with an optical disc drive

By Variable staff on September 9, 2024

Over the weekend Sony seemingly confirmed early leaks of what may be the upcoming PlayStation 5 "Pro." The tease shows that the PS5 Pro will follow the same design language as the current "Slim" models, but may not come with a built-in optical disc drive.

The initial details of the PS5 Pso came from known leaker billbill-kun, which were later turned into a 3D render by Reddit user Dramatic_Experience6. As previously stated, the render shares the same design language as the current slimline PS5 model, but with three lines across the console, as opposed to the single line of the slim.

Now, Sony has seemingly confirmed this design in its post on the PlayStation blog celebrating the console's 30th anniversary. Specifically, a small, barely visible graphic in one of the images in the blog post seems to show something similar to the speculative PS5 Pro Render.

PS5 Pro hint — Is Sony confirming that the PS5 Pro design leaks are real?

As exciting as the near-confirmation of the PS5 Pro leaks is, however, the leak itself also comes with some rather disappointing news. The current rumors state that the PS5 Pro will not come with an optical disc drive. Instead, players will have to buy the drive separately, as is the case with the base, driveless slim PS5.

With the PS5 Pro already expected to retail for much higher than the current console, having to purchase the drive on top of that could discourage existing owners with physical game libraries from upgrading. (Read: The opposing receptions to Concord and Astro Bot show that Sony needs to make a hard choice moving forward)

That said, Sony could — and probably will — offer an SKU that includes the optical drive. Hopefully, if this does happen, then the bundle doesn't cost much more than the base, drive-less SKU.

Of course, Sony has yet to officially confirm anything regarding the PS5 Pro at this point. So whether or not it comes with a disc drive is just speculation.

Hopefully, we won't have to wait long before we get official confirmation. The leaks state that Sony is planning to launch the console this November. With the Tokyo Game Show just around the corner, Sony will likely announce something there if the leaked dates are correct.

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