PlayStation fans are being advised to act now if they want to buy a PS5 Digital Edition 1TB console, as fresh stock quietly filters into Europe with a smaller SSD, despite the console being sold at the same price.
Sony has not trumpeted the change, though insider billbil-kun noted earlier this month that new PS5 Digital Edition retail stock in Europe would soon contain an 825GB SSD, down from the current 1TB. (For now, the PS5 Slim Standard model with a disc drive appears to be retaining its 1TB SSD.)
This week, one of the new 825GB Digital Edition models was unboxed and shown off in a teardown video by YouTuber Austin Evans, revealing other changes likely intended to cut the console's manufacturing costs — meaning better margins for Sony, even if these savings aren't being passed onto the consumer.
The newer PS5 Digital Edition's smaller 825GB SSD is listed on the console's external packaging — though this is easy to miss, especially when buying online. Again, Sony has not publicly stated a reason for the SSD downgrade, though the smaller SSD will almost certainly be cheaper to produce.
Looking inside the device, Evans noted that several internal components have been physically reduced in size, bringing the overall console weight down by 100g — likely making the console cheaper to ship. Finally, the updated model also has a fully matte finish, though this appears to be more of an aesthetic choice.
IGN has contacted Sony for details on the new 825GB model's rollout worldwide, including in the U.S. and Canada, though for now it's worth noting that numerous U.K. retailers are preparing for the change by selling off stock of the existing 1TB model at sizable discounts.
The newer model arrives despite repeated PS5 price increases in the U.S. and overseas over the past few years. The most recent — a $50 price hike for the PS5's Standard version, Digital Edition and PS5 Pro — hit the U.S. just a month ago.
"Similar to many global businesses, we continue to navigate a challenging economic environment," Isabelle Tomatis, Sony Interactive Entertainment's Vice President, Global Marketing said in a statement at the time. "As a result, we’ve made the difficult decision to increase the recommended retail price for PlayStation 5 consoles in the U.S. starting on August 21."
The price rises come amid a turbulent time for global markets due to U.S. tariffs, and similar increases from other video games companies such as Nintendo, which recently increased the price of the original Nintendo Switch. Sony previously raised the PS5's price in the UK and mainland Europe, Australia and New Zealand earlier this year, after already increasing the console's cost once before, back in 2022.
Image credit: Austin Evans.
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