Sony has officially announced the PlayStation 5 Pro, a mid-gen refresh of the PS5. Priced at a staggering $699.99 USD/£699.99/€799.99/¥119,980, the PS5 Pro will be released November 7, 2024.
Coming in at the same height as the original PS5 and the same width as the slim revision, the PlayStation 5 Pro was designed with the main goal of achieving better visuals at smoother frame rates. As detailed in a technical presentation by Mark Cerny, the lead architect behind the PS4 and PS5, the PS5 Pro features three key upgrades over the original console to achieve this goal: a larger GPU, advanced ray tracing, and AI-driven upscaling that Sony is calling PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR).
The GPU is capable of 45% faster rendering, which will make way for a smoother gameplay experience. As for the advanced ray tracing, the PS5 Pro will be able to produce lighting, shadows, and reflections that are improvements over what the base PS5 is capable of. PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution is “an AI-driven upscaling that uses a machine learning-based technology.” This will sharpen images by adding much more detail to what’s on screen.
These features were showcased during the presentation with a couple different games. The Last of Us Part II Remastered was shown running at 60 FPS in its fidelity mode while Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 showed a higher resolution in its performance mode. Gran Turismo 7 and Horizon Forbidden West were used to demonstrate the strength of the system and its improvements to ray tracing through lighting and reflections. The parade scene from the opening of Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart was used to show off PSSR and the improvements it brings to image detail.
Another feature of the new console is PS5 Pro Game Boost. Similar to what the PS4 Pro did for PS4 games, this will make supported PS4 and PS5 games have more stable or improved performance over their original versions. PS4 games will also have an option to improve their resolution. Other technical features for the PS5 Pro include Wi-Fi 7 in supported regions, VRR, and 8K gaming.
In addition to the aforementioned first-party titles, Demon’s Souls was also shown to be taking advantage of the new PS5 Pro features. A number of third-party games that will be supporting the features of the PS5 Pro were revealed as well. They include Alan Wake 2, Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, Dragon’s Dogma 2, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Hogwarts Legacy, The Crew Motorfest, and The First Descendant.
The PS5 Pro will come with a 2TB SSD, a DualSense controller, and Astro’s Playroom pre-installed on the system. Notably, it will not feature a disc drive. Just like with the slim revision of the PS5, the new console is being sold as a digital console. That said, the PS5 Pro will support the same disc-drive attachment as the slim console. If you want to set your system up vertically, the vertical stand will have to be purchased separately as well.
I have quite a few thoughts on the PS5 Pro, specifically regarding its price. It’s a high price to pay for enhancements that many may not notice or care much about. I’ll talk more about it though very soon.
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