The PlayStation 5 may be getting a new design in 2022, but it likely will be limited to its internal architecture. Due to the global semiconductor shortage, the PS5's CPU might get swapped to help scale up production.
The potential redesign was originally reported by Taiwanese outlet Digitimes, which suggests that semiconductor foundries are already preparing for the new PS5 architecture and targeting 2022 for production. As relayed by Dr. Serkan Toto on Twitter, Digitimes reports that Sony is aiming for a new "semi-customized" 6 nanometer CPU chip from AMD.
While Digitimes remains the only outlet to report on the specifics of the change, Sony itself has confirmed that it's thinking seriously about an architecture change to alleviate supply chain issues caused by the semiconductor shortage. In its earnings report, as shared by VGC, Sony CFO responded to a question about meeting second-year sales goals by saying, "For example, we could find maybe a secondary resource, or by changing the design."
We're reached out to Sony for comment and will update this article with any additional information we receive.
Architectural tweaks throughout the life cycle of a console--even early on--are nothing new. As new technology is developed for chip production and supply chain logistics, console manufacturers will occasionally overhaul certain aspects of the console's internals to make it cheaper or easier to produce. For example, less than two years after the PS4's launch, Sony rolled out a redesign that made the console quieter and more power efficient.
If you're wondering about external changes--say, a redesign that could make the PS5 less bulky--that's probably still a ways off. The PS4 Slim, for example, went on sale in September 2016, a little less than three years after the original launch. The Xbox One S was released three years after the original Xbox One, as well.