The design of the PlayStation 5 reportedly leaked through patent drawings, featuring a much different look compared to the console’s predecessors.
The patent, spotted by Dutch blog Let’s Go Digital, was submitted in Brazil in May and published on August 13 at the World Intellectual Property Office, where it falls under the category of electronic devices. It appears that Sony’s technical director, Yushiro Ootori, is the man behind the concept.
Let’s Go Digital later created renders for the drawings found in the patents, potentially showing the first look at the PlayStation 5.
There is little doubt that the render is a potential PlayStation 5 design, due to the classification of the patent which is also where the PlayStation 4 is categorized. However, without official confirmation from Sony, the leak looked too good to be true.
Matthew Stott, a game developer since 1992 and currently working as a senior artist in Codemasters, then confirmed that the leaked design was indeed for the PlayStation 5 — but not yet for the console that will ship to customers. In a tweet, Stott said that the device was the PlayStation 5 development kit, though there is a chance that it ends up as the final design for the console.
The post gained traction online, but Stott’s tweet has since been blocked from public view. It is unclear what happened, but it is plausible that Sony reached out to him to take down the post.
If Stott is indeed telling the truth, the PlayStation 5 development kit looks very different compared to the PlayStation 4. The cutout at the top stands out, possibly to provide additional ventilation, and the console also features five USB ports and several buttons at the front, plus two USB ports at the back.
It remains unclear if the final PlayStation 5 design will look like the development kit, but as with any rumor, everything is up in the air until official confirmation.
The PlayStation 5, which is expected to launch in 2020, will be powered by AMD chips that will be able to support 3D audio, 8K graphics, and ray tracing. A leaked benchmark test on the PlayStation 5 claimed that it will be four times more powerful than the PlayStation 4.
