Sony may have a lot of holes in its Chinese operations, as the company saw an alleged leak of Project Q immediately followed by a leak of the PlayStation 5 Slim.
Leaks come in many shapes and sizes. Sometimes it’s a photograph of a game case spoiling Armored Core 6’s multiplayer plans. Other times it’s an apparent insider revealing the day-one DLC plans for Persona 5 Tactica. For Sony, back-to-back leaks of upcoming hardware have surfaced via Chinese social media.
A few weeks ago, the upcoming controller-tablet hybrid Project Q was seemingly leaked from China. Now, an alleged photograph of a PlayStation 5 Slim popped up on the Chinese gaming forum A9VG.com and had PlayStation fans abuzz.
First look at PlayStation 5 Slim seemingly leaked
A forum user on China’s A9VG website posted a photo that is purportedly a PlayStation 5 Slim. The photo shows what is likely the top half of the console while it’s standing vertically. The bottom half isn’t shown, making it impossible to tell whether the PS5 Slim has a disk drive or if it is digital-only.
The console lives up to its name, as it is considerably thinner than the current PS5 models on the market. The base model is a whopping 15.4×10.2×4.1 inches for the disk model, which is closer in size to a desktop PC than a PlayStation 4. That makes a PS5 Slim a logical mid-generation hardware update.
Sony has not made any comment on the matter, nor has the company even officially confirmed any plans to develop a PS5 Slim or any other new iteration of PS5. Given the sheer number of fake console leaks that have popped up over the years, it’s reasonable to look at this one with a bit of skepticism. The similarity between this leak and another one does make this forum post worth taking a closer look at, though.
What is PlayStation 5’s Project Q?
Project Q is an upcoming PlayStation 5 accessory designed around high-quality remote play. It essentially combines a DualSense controller with a tablet, similar to the Nintendo Wii U’s distinctive pad.
Sony officially revealed the device in May 2023 as part of an accessory showcase. Project Q is still largely mysterious, with no release date or price point announced as of this writing. A video showing a partly functional version of the controller was apparently shown in a short video that made the rounds on social media. The controller portion isn’t fully assembled but the person shooting the video is seen using the touchscreen part of the controller, which is seemingly a fully functional Android tablet.
The Project Q controller is shown partly assembled and features Chinese text in its UI. This prompted speculation that it was captured by a worker at one of Sony’s manufacturing partners in China.
While neither the PS5 Slim nor the Project Q controller have been acknowledged as authentic by Sony. If they are, the company is likely frustrated with seeing two leaks within a month.
