Ongoing shortages force Sony to switch semiconductor supplier, PS5 re-model expected in 2022

It’s not lost on anyone just how tricky it is to purchase a PlayStation 5 at the moment. Ongoing lockdown measures combined with worldwide supply constraints is simply a recipe for stock disaster, and more reports are being published every day about what Sony’s next move might be to try and resolve this. Well, that may have since changed, as Taiwanese business site DigiTimes reports that Sony has switched suppliers to construct a “new semi-customized” 6nm CPU engineered by AMD.

This stark change of hardware indicates that Sony is prepared to step up their manufacturing efforts by April of next year, resulting in an early PS5 redesign that should help satiate ongoing demand for the new console. Don’t expect the aesthetic of this new model to look all that different, though. It’s more likely the case that only the internals will change. Major model redesigns usually happen at least 3-4 years within a console’s lifecycle.

Sony previously stated that PlayStation 5 sales droughts are certain to continue throughout 2021. This is something players here in the UK know all too much about, as whenever a small batch does appear they’re quickly snapped up. This throttling of stock doesn’t seem to have affected the PS5’s initial sales figures since its November launch, however, as the next-gen console is wildly outpacing the PlayStation 4’s release window in the same period.

The last financial quarter ended on March 31^st, 2021 for Sony, where it was revealed that they had shipped a total of 7.8 million units. The company is clearly hedging their bets that PS5 demand will only continue to increase, especially as more exclusives like Returnal and Ratchet &Clank: Rift Apart are released, hence the move to a new semiconductor supplier. If all plans go ahead, expect to see the slightly redesigned PlayStation 5 quietly launch some time next year.