Will PS5 price drop after PS5 Pro and PS5 Slim release?

With each passing day, we are inching closer to the PS5 Pro and the PS5 Slim launch. The rumored mid-gen refreshers to the latest PlayStation will improve the console's performance lead, making it an even more potent machine at UHD resolutions. With better and more efficient hardware, the original PS5 will fall behind and be classified as a less-ideal device for playing the latest titles.

This also raises a second question among gamers — Will the original PS5 consoles from 2020 be discounted following the debut of the improved variants? Sony has shared no info on price cuts for the PlayStation 5 so far. Thus, we will explore what could happen once the mid-cycle refreshes debut.

Do note that this article is merely based on speculations, our expectations, and some educated guesses. What Sony decides might be wildly different from what we list in this piece, so take it with a grain of salt.

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The PS5 might be discontinued after the PS5 Pro launches

According to currently known information, the PS5 Slim will launch later this year, with the Pro revision headed to the market sometime next year. Both of these consoles will outperform the original PlayStation 5, both in terms of performance and price.

Thus, it only makes sense for Sony to discontinue the PS5 disc and digital editions that debuted in 2020. In the Microsoft vs. FTC court trials, the Japanese tech juggernaut revealed earlier this summer that a slimline revision to the PlayStation would debut for the same price tag that the all-digital version sells for $400.

For $100 cheaper, this console is expected to be slightly more powerful than the PS5, thanks to a Zen 4 and RDNA 3-based AMD APU (accelerated processing unit).

However, the more powerful PS5 Pro doesn't launch until next year. Thus, the company will have to keep at least one of the original PlayStation 5s until then. A detachable disc drive for the console has been in the rumor mill for quite some time. We expect Sony to leverage it moving forward.

The company might launch the disc drive alongside the PS5 Slim and discontinue the $500 disc edition. The PS5 digital edition might be discounted to $350 following this launch. This could continue until the more powerful PS5 Pro launches for $500. Given past trends, the company has always released the Pro revisions at the same debut price as the original one the console targeted.

After studying past trends and the current market (where most gamers prefer digital games over buying DVDs), this is what we believe Sony will do while launching the mid-cycle refreshers.

However, none of this is set in stone. The PS5 Slim and PS5 Pro launches might completely differ from what we discussed.