• News

Sony patent suggests PS5 first-party faceplates are on the way

After shutting down some third-party sellers in 2020, it looks like Sony is finally getting ready to offer PS5 panel customization of its own in the near future.

TJ Denzer

November 22, 2021 9:25 AM

5

Back when the PlayStation 5 launched, the ability to remove the side panel faceplates from the console caught a lot of attention. Third-party vendors tried to jump on the hype and produce their own custom faceplates for the PS5, but Sony was pretty quick to shut them down. Now, about a year later, it looks like Sony is finally ready to pursue that venture itself based on a patent that was recently verified.

Sony’s recently accepted patent was spotted on the United States Patent and Trademark Office website, as spotted by OPAttack. Sony’s patent for a “Skin cover for PS5 console” was filed on November 5, 2020, around when the PS5 first launched. The patent was finally accepted on November 16, 2021. Under the patent, Sony is likely to begin producing first-party skins and faceplates for PS5 consoles in the very near future, although no official announcements have been made at the time of this writing.

Back in 2020 when the PS5 first launched, third-party sellers were quick to try to set up faceplate and skin websites for the PlayStation 5. They were quickly knocked down by Sony’s legal department and left many wondering what kind of plans of its own Sony had for the PS5 customization market. Even without the new patent in place, it could have easily been assumed that Sony wanted to stop third parties from capitalizing on getting their piece of its pie. Even so, a year after the PlayStation 5 has launched, it seems Sony is dragging its feet a bit on the prospect. This may also be due to resource management as the company does its best to produce standard PS5s for purchase, especially during the holiday season.

We’re still waiting to see exactly what Sony’s first-party PS5 faceplates and skins might look like, so stay tuned to Shacknews as we await further updates and announcements on the matter.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.