Credit: Dhruv Bhutani / Android Authority
Update, February 20, 2024 (02:50 PM ET): We’ve updated this PlayStation 5 Pro rumor hub with more speculation that it could launch this year.
Original article: On November 15, 2013, Sony launched the PlayStation 4. Three years later, almost to the day, Sony launched an upgraded version known as the PlayStation 4 Pro. Meanwhile, the PlayStation 5 launched on November 12, 2020. If you do the math, that means it’s been over three years since we saw the PS5 console launch. Does that mean we can expect a Sony PS5 Pro to launch soon?
The PS4 Pro was only a slight iteration of the PS4. It used the same controller, played the same games, and had all the same features. Its main reason for existing was to allow for smoother gameplay, 4K support across various games, and a few other quality-of-life upgrades. If a PlayStation 5 Pro exists, what will it offer?
In this article, we have rounded up all the credible rumors we’ve seen so far related to a PS5 Pro. We’ve also compiled a wishlist of features we hope to see, even if we haven’t seen any evidence for them yet.
Will there be a PS5 Pro?
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Much like the mythical Nintendo Switch Pro, Sony has not confirmed a PS5 Pro is on the way or even in the works. Believe it or not, Sony launching a “Pro” version of its home game console has only happened once. The original PlayStation, the PlayStation 2, and the PlayStation 3 never saw Pro-level models. That means we are banking a lot on the existence of the PlayStation 4 Pro in our assumption that there could be a PlayStation 5 Pro.
That being said, there is plenty of evidence to support a PS5 Pro is likely to happen.
The CEO of Take-Two Interactive — the studio behind the Grand Theft Auto franchise — went on the record to say he thinks a PS5 Pro will happen. Meanwhile, leaker Tom Henderson said, “with a 100% degree of certainty,” that the PlayStation 5 Pro is “currently in development.” Prominent games insider Jeff Grubb of GamesBeat and Giant Bomb also joined in and claimed on his Game Mess podcast that industry insiders have confirmed a mid-gen upgrade is happening. When leakers and gaming industry CEOs are in agreement, it seems a foregone conclusion that we’ll see a Sony PlayStation 5 Pro at some point soon.
We’ve also seen the supposed codename of the device leak: “Trinity.” This is, without a doubt, a reference to The Matrix film series. Previously, Sony has used Matrix-themed codenames, such as for the PlayStation 4 Pro (“Neo”) and the PlayStation VR (“Morpheus”).
Most recently, a leak from Im A Hero Too claims Square and Sega both have new PS5 devkits. It’s pretty reasonable to believe this is further confirmation of the PS5 Pro on its way in 2024.
When is the PS5 Pro likely to be released?
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Since Sony hasn’t confirmed the existence of a PS5 Pro, we can’t say with any certainty when it will come out. Based on the launch cycle of the PlayStation 4 series, we would’ve assumed we’d see it in November 2023. An early November 2023 launch would have allowed Sony to capitalize on the lucrative holiday shopping season. Also, November is when Sony launched most of its recent consoles.
Case in point, in November 2023, Sony confirmed it will launch a “new” PS5 console. Although it would be easy to call it a PlayStation 5 Slim, Sony is not calling it that. Either way, the two versions of the console have been trimmed down a bit, storage has been upgraded to 1TB, the disc drive is now a modular accessory, and the Digital Edition has increased in price by $50. These new designs will replace the original designs as stock diminishes.
Considering Sony launched these refreshed consoles, we will almost certainly need to wait until late 2024 to see the PS5 Pro — if it is even coming. One leaker, in a since-deleted tweet, said that the PS5 Pro and a second-gen Nintendo Switch would likely launch around the same time. Rumors heavily suggest Nintendo is at least aiming to release a new Switch model in 2024, so it would seem this year would be the time for a new PS5 Pro, too.
In the Game Mess podcast mentioned earlier, Grubb initially said that he had heard that the PS5 Pro is scheduled for September 2025. Shortly after, he corrected himself, stating that he wrote down 2025, but is fairly confident the system is supposed to be out in 2024.
Most recently, Serkan Toto, CEO of games consultancy company Kantan Games, told CNBC:
There seems to be a broad consensus in the game industry that Sony is indeed preparing a launch of a PS5 Pro in the second half of 2024. Sony will want to make sure to have a great piece of hardware ready when GTA VI hits in 2025, a launch that will be a shot in the arm for the entire gaming industry.
To summarize, we’d expect the PlayStation 5 Pro to launch in the fall of 2024. It could be earlier, but that’s unlikely. If anything, it would be later.
What features and specs could the PS5 Pro have?
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As mentioned earlier, the star feature of the PlayStation 4 Pro was 4K support. As it stands today, the PlayStation 5 already supports 4K on a huge selection of titles. Technically, it even supports 8K. However, 8K support is limited to just one game — and it’s not a very popular one. It’s possible the PlayStation 5 Pro could support 8K natively on more titles or even 8K upscaling on games that don’t have that resolution natively.
This would necessitate an upgrade in hardware. The PS5 runs on a custom processor based on an AMD Zen 2 build combined with a custom RDNA 2 GPU. One theory, originating from RedGamingTech on YouTube, is that the new PlayStation could have a new Ryzen APU, which would also be customized significantly.
The Sony PlayStation 5 Pro would likely feature slightly upgraded hardware, but it certainly would not be a PS6.
Later, in December 2023, a full set of specs for this supposed processor leaked. Allegedly, the processor comes with the codename “viola” and is still based on the AMD Zen 2 architecture. This makes sense, as the PS5 Pro getting a whole new processor would make it more like a PS6, so there are no surprises there. Check out the rest of the leaked specs below:
Based on this leak, the Sony PlayStation 5 Pro could be capable of smoother refresh rates and better graphics processing. Many PlayStation games give you the option of prioritizing graphics or performance. It’s possible Sony could lean into this more, with the PS5 Pro capable of rock-solid 120fps gameplay at higher resolutions or rock-solid 4K graphics at variable refresh rates.
Once again, Jeff Grubb mentioned on his podcast that the specs being reported by sources span a range right now because Sony has yet to nail the details down. However, Grubb added that the PS5 Pro could have its own proprietary upscaling technology similar to NVIDIA’s Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) technology. A patent discovered by GameRant confirms Sony is at least thinking about proprietary hardware-driven upscaling that uses machine learning to improve a game’s performance and visuals.
Another thing that could see improvement is ray tracing. The PlayStation 5 supports ray tracing, but it requires the system to work pretty hard and requires some performance trade-offs. Upscaling hardware could give the system what it needs to support ray tracing more efficiently and on more titles.
The important thing to remember, though, is that this will not be a PS6. The PS5 Pro would be a better iteration of the current console, not some wild leap forward. Only the most demanding gamers would feel the need to upgrade from a PlayStation 5, but it could be the nudge needed for people still using a PS4.
Another patent from the console maker hints toward a feature capable of dynamically adjusting a game’s difficulty. The feature appears in a patent called “Adaptive Difficulty Calibration For Skills-Based Activities In Virtual Environments,” and aims to keep games engaged by lowering or raising difficulty according to the player’s skill.
What might the PS5 Pro price be?
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Up until October 2023, the PlayStation 5 had two versions: a disc-less Digital Edition that cost $399 and a disc-based standard edition for $499. In November 2023, the refreshed versions of these consoles hit store shelves, with the Digital Edition jumping from $399 to $449 and the standard edition sticking with the same $499 price. One would assume that a Pro-level model would need to be more expensive than these two. However, that might not be the case.
For context, the PlayStation 4 cost $399 when it launched in 2013. In September 2016, the PlayStation 4 Slim landed, and it only cost $299. In November 2016, the PlayStation 4 Pro launched at $399. Therefore, there is a precedent that Sony could drop the price of the regular PlayStation 5 and launch the Pro model at the $499 price we see today. However, with Sony launching “new” PS5 consoles in November 2023 with the same or higher prices as we saw in 2020, it is possible the Pro model — if it even comes out — could be much more expensive.
The final PS5 Pro-related reveal Grubb had on his podcast was the potential price. According to the GamesBeat journalist, he expects the system to be on the more expensive side, possibly selling for $600.
We hope the PlayStation 5 Pro doesn’t cost more than $500, though. The last time Sony went over that mark with the upgraded 60GB PlayStation 3, it was not well-received, to say the least. With inflation rates soaring, we could see it hit ~$550, but fingers crossed that doesn’t happen.
Should you wait for the PS5 Pro?
The answer to this depends. Early on, there were almost zero exclusives to the PS5, with most games also arriving on the PS4 and PS4 Pro. That’s less true now; we’re seeing more PS5 exclusives. If there’s a game you absolutely want this year or early next year, you should just grab a PlayStation 5 now, especially if you can still find the original Digital Edition model at its $399 price.
That said, if you have a backlog of PS4 titles (or another console) and don’t mind waiting until at least the middle of 2024 to learn more about the PS5 Pro, it could possibly be worth the wait for some.
Sony PS5 Pro: What we want to see
Credit: Dhruv Bhutani / Android Authority
Better thermals
The PlayStation 5 doesn’t sound like a jet engine when it’s operating at a heavy load. This is a welcome change from the PS4, PS4 Slim, and even PS4 Pro, which all had crazy-loud fan noise. However, the downside to quieter fans is higher temperatures, and the PlayStation 5 can get pretty toasty under heavy load.
It would be great to see the Sony PlayStation 5 Pro have a better grip on thermals. Even if it ran a few degrees cooler at heavy loads, that would be nice. This would likely require some redesign of the internals and possibly even a new type of case. Still, a classy redesign could add to the appeal of upgrading to the Pro model, so that would be a win-win.
More storage
There has been a lot of discussion about the limited storage space on the PlayStation 5. The SSD available with the original models has around 667GB of available space, and the refreshed versions for 2023 have about 842GB. The problem, though, is that all PS5 games must be fully loaded into that storage — even if you put in a game disc. This causes that storage to fill up pretty rapidly, especially considering that the PS5 versions of F1: 2021, Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut, WWE 2K23, and Metro Exodus all have filesize larger than 100GB each. A limit of eight AAA games installed at any one time just isn’t a lot.
That’s why we hope the PlayStation 5 Pro comes with more storage. Thankfully, it’s fairly easy to upgrade a PS5’s SSD if Sony skips this and sticks to the 1TB capacity, but it would be nice if folks who fork out for the Pro model don’t need to do that.
Quick-swapping of games
If you are playing a game and put the PS5 into rest mode, when you come back, you can pick up right where you left off. This feature is excellent, especially for folks with kids or busy social lives. It’s always been a pain to hold off on doing something because you need to get an in-game save point.
The problem, though, is that you can only do this for one game at a time. It would be nice if the PlayStation 5 Pro enabled this feature for multiple games. That way, you could stop playing one game, jump into another, and then go back and forth between the two without losing your spots. We’re not sure why you can’t do this already — possibly there’s insufficient RAM? — but we hope Sony finds a way to do this with the PS5 Pro.
Have any Sony PlayStation 5 Pro leaks to share with us? Send us a tip, and we’ll check it out.
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