PS5 Pro: What We Know About Release Date, Specs and How It Might Stack Up
Sony says the PS5 is in the latter stage of its life cycle, but the next update might still pack a punch.
The PS5 could be about to get a sibling: the PS5 Pro.
The PlayStation 5 is getting a big upgrade this holiday, if rumors are to be believed. Sony is reportedly planning to announce a Pro version of its PS5 console, promising significant boosts in visual graphics and gameplay.
One of the key changes reportedly coming with Sony's PS5 Pro is a technology called upscaling, which uses artificial intelligence to create images with more detail and lighting effects, without as much need for raw performance.
Sony did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The PS5 Pro's upcoming release isn't the sales slam dunk it sounds like, though. Consoles are designed to last nearly a decade on the market, give or take, and the PS5 only came out in 2020. These upgraded Pro and similar step-up versions of consoles, which Sony and other console-makers have begun releasing roughly in the middle of that decade, are designed to offer a super-muscle-car version of the standard model.
The new console will have to do a lot more this time to convince people to hand over their money. Industry watchers believe Sony is hoping the more-than-decade-long buildup to Rockstar's release of Grand Theft Auto 6 in 2025 will be enough to push people over the edge.
"The look and feel of GTA 6 is undoubtedly a tremendous amount of effort from all involved," IGN wrote after the game's first trailer was released in December.
And that's without even considering rumors of Sony's next major PlayStation update, the PS6, which will likely launch before the end of the decade. Here's what is currently rumored about the PS5 Pro, including when it could launch, pricing details and possible features.
When will the PS5 Pro launch, and for how much?
Rumors now consistently place the PS5 Pro's launch at this holiday shopping season, in part to get ahead of enthusiasm for GTA 6.
Price is a little harder to guess, but Sony has indicated it plans to focus more on "profits" for the remainder of the PS5's life on store shelves.
Read more: Sony's PlayStation 5 Is Entering the 'Latter Stage of Its Life Cycle': What That Means
Sony currently sells the PS5 for a starting price of $449 for the model without a disc drive, meaning you have to purchase and download games from Sony or its partners.
When Sony announced the PS4 Pro in 2016, just three years after the PS4 hit store shelves, the company charged $100 more for the device's extra capabilities. It's still unclear whether Sony will follow a similar approach this time, but if so, the PS5 Pro could be priced at around $550.
What features will the PS5 Pro offer?
Sony's plans for the PS5 Pro appear to boil down to consistently high performance. YouTuber Moore's Law is Dead, who's spent years regularly leaking information about upcoming chip manufacturing and performance by Intel, AMD and Nvidia, says he learned from unnamed sources that the new PS5 Pro will offer much faster rendering and ray-tracing. The result will mean the PS5 Pro will effectively be able to create game visuals and simulate more realistic lighting.
One way Sony is expected to pull off big performance jumps is through a technology called PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution Upscaling, or PSSR, which would use AI to help the console create visuals much more efficiently. It appears to be similar to Nvidia's popular Deep Learning Super Sampling, AMD's FidelityFX or Intel's Xe Super Sampling, each of which are key selling points of the best gaming cards for gamers and creatives.
Insider Gaming said it confirmed Moore's Law is Dead's reporting, citing a secret note Sony sent to outside game developers.
What happens to the PS5 after the PS5 Pro launch
When Sony announced its PS5 was entering the "latter stage of its lifecycle" earlier this year, the company didn't explain how its approach to the device would change, other than the cryptic promise to "put more emphasis on the balance between profitability and sales."
Rumors suggest Sony won't be dropping prices much, but will instead focus on convincing existing PS5 owners to trade up to a PS5 Pro, or get non-PlayStation owners to buy a PS5.
One way Sony will make its case is by offering many years of support for its older consoles. The PS5 can play "an overwhelming majority" of PS4 games, no matter if they were bought on disc or digital. It'd be a genuine surprise if the PS5 Pro strayed from that approach. And while we don't yet know if the inevitable PS6 will offer the same capabilities, it's likely Sony will want to keep that feature.
Sony kept making and selling PS4 consoles more than a year past the PS5's launch in the fall of 2020.
Microsoft and Nintendo on the horizon
While many gamers will pay attention to Sony's PS5 Pro launch later this year, it's not the only device people are anticipating. Microsoft accidentally leaked its Xbox plans in a bunch of legal documents last year, giving gamers a look at its own planned Xbox upgrade, code-named "Brooklin." The device is shaped like a cylinder -- not a trash can -- and it's supposed to offer more storage and use less energy.
Nintendo, meanwhile, is expected to announce an update to its popular Switch console, which has sold more than 139 million units and more than 1.2 billion games since its launch in 2017. Industry rumors suggest the Switch 2 will be a beefed-up version of the current console.