Sony is preparing an updated PlayStation 5 model with a new semi-custom processor from AMD

The company Sony will release a new version of the console PlayStation 5 in 2022.

The relevant news was shared by the Taiwanese business publication DigiTimes, according to which, a number of contractors, including the semiconductor company TSMC, are planning to start production of components for the updated PS5 in the second or third quarter of next year.

DigiTimes supply chain sources claim the redesigned PlayStation 5 will receive a “new semi-custom” processor from AMD with a 6nm process that will be cheaper than the 7nm chip currently in use. Most likely, the redesign will affect exclusively the technical part and will not offer any significant external changes, but will make the console even colder and quieter.

In a recent meeting with investors, Sony’s CFO Hiroki Totoki said PS5 shipments are unlikely to improve significantly in the current fiscal year, which ends March 31, 2022. The company is currently considering various solutions to help it deal with the global shortage of components for the PlayStation 5, including possible hardware redesign and additional vendors.

“As I said earlier, we’re aiming for more sales volume than the PS4 [during year 2]. But can we drastically increase the supply? No, that’s not likely,” he said.

“The shortage of semiconductors is one factor, but there are other factors that will impact on the production volume. So, at present, we’d like to aim at [beating] second year sales of 14.8 million, which was the second year of PS4.”

Asked specifically about the shortage of semiconductors, which is affecting all consumer electronics industries from smartphones to automobiles, Totoki suggested Sony had means with which it could cope.

“For example, we could find maybe a secondary resource, or by changing the design we could cope,” the exec said.