The PlayStation 5 generation of Sony hardware has gone surprisingly smoothly, except for one particular issue with how the console keeps from overheating. A liquid metal cooling system has worked fine in many circumstances, but it has also led to leaks and related issues in others. While the cause of overheating issues in some early PS5s has never been confirmed, a new patent which could be related to the upcoming PS6 might address that apparent flaw in the older console’s design.
The Sony patent comes by way of Tech4Gamers and was filed in early 2026, with the application being published back in April. It’s specifically for a revised heat sink. The description reads, “An electronic device is provided that can improve cooling capacity of a heating element built into an electronic device disposed in a plurality of postures.” The suggestion is that this new design will use traditional liquid cooling and improve heat transfer efficiency in both horizontal and vertical configurations.
While there’s no confirmation that this design will be employed in the PS6, the hope is that Sony is moving away from its current, more exotic liquid metal cooling design. Its use led to endless debates early on about whether it was okay to keep the PS5 standing upright after some users dealing with overheating issues found leaked liquid on their motherboards. The belief was that having the system oriented against gravity was part of the cause.
The issue was frequently debated but never explicitly addressed by Sony. However, when it came time to release the PS5 Slim and Pro models, early adopters discovered changes to the original heat sinks. Deeper grooves and altered application patterns for the cooling system appeared to limit problems with unexpected spills and units overheating. Now if the PS6 is a handheld, or at least one version of it is, Sony definitely won’t want to be facing any allegations of leaks. My own PS5, however, is still trucking along in the vertical position since launch, even in 97-degree weather without air conditioning. For now.