Sony might developing on a new game cartridge, and because of that, many reports have speculated a new PS Vita is in the works.

Let's start from the beginning: Dutch site TechTastic discovered the patent, which was filed in South Korea last year with Korean Intellectual Property Right Information Service (KIPRIS). It shows a game cartridge with a small port and a keychain-like hole. It's an unusual cartridge design straight from Sony‘s R&D department. Currently, it's unclear what console is meant for this cartridge.

For some context, there are three existing consoles that use cartridges - the PlayStation Vita, and Nintendo’s 3DS and Switch. The Vita is set to finally be discontinued this year, as Sony has only sold around 16 million (Nintendo has sold 73 million 3DS units). But, in May, Sony suggested it's interested in portable consoles, calling them “one method to deliver more gaming experiences".

So, is this game cartridge for an upcoming console? And would this console be a successor the Vita, or is it the upcoming PS5, or something different? What we need to remember is the Switch is super popular, and Sony would be foolish to ignore its threat. It makes sense the company would be developing a competitor that also uses cartridges - hence this patent - but that's all unconfirmed.

We'll keep you posted as we learn more.