Sony wants to strengthen its gaming ecosystem and there is a lot of information that has arrived in recent months of new hardware launches. On the one hand, the PS5 Pro as a performance upgrade of the current PS5 and as a transition to the PS6, and on the other hand, the return of the Japanese firm to portable consoles with the PlayStation Vita 2. And to close the circle, the PS5 Slim

And there’s more. Like the PlayStation 5 Slim reduced size variant and higher operational efficiency. Small changes at the hardware level would not sacrifice performance, but would reduce costs.

None of the above has been confirmed by Sony, and it’s not beyond the rumor stage at this point, although some of the information is fairly well-founded. Now we’re getting something more “tangible” to confirm the hardware revision.

It’s a patent filed in 2020 by Sony Interactive Entertainment and published this week. shows the type replaceable optical drive, a component that was also previously discussed in connection with updated console variants. As you know, Sony offers customers two variants of the PS5, the more advanced model is equipped with an internal drive compatible with 4K Blu-Ray, while the other works with digital downloads.

The patent mentions its use for “gaming machines or personal computers” and refers to the improved construction with dampers for “prevent the transmission of vibrations from the base unit to the outer casing”. It is also said to use fewer components.

We’ll see. Optical disc usage is very low today. And the tendency is to use them even less. In an age of streaming, downloading and consuming all kinds of content on demand, we don’t know where this patent might fit. It is clear that “something” is stirring at Sony and may be part of that “modular” console it is rumored and that it would be the PlayStation 5 Slim, as a third model would not be logical.

The company would sell the console without an optical drive to keep costs down, but would offer a removable drive for the user who wanted one. Release dates are unknown. If rumors of a PS5 Pro and Vita 2 laptop by 2024 are confirmed, the Slim should hit the market sooner. For next Christmas?