Sony has officially revealed the PlayStation 5 Pro, so here’s everything we know about it, including the release date, price, and features.
With the PlayStation 5 nearly four years old, Sony announced a Pro version during a Technical Presentation hosted by PS5 Architect Mark Cerny that premiered on September 10, 2024. This is similar to the upgrade its predecessor received three years into its own life.
The PS5 Pro’s reveal follows months of rumors and leaks regarding everything from the console’s technical power to its design, so let’s go over everything we know about the new hardware.
Release date
The PS5 Pro will release on November 7, 2024, with preorders starting on September 26, 2024.
This is in line with previous leaks, which pointed to a Q4 2024 release for the console, and reports that any games submitted to Platform Certifications & Operations (CertOps) after September 15 “will be required to support the PlayStation 5 Pro.”
Price
The PS5 Pro will cost $699.99, which is significantly more than both the original PS5, the PS5 Slim, and the digital-only models.
As a comparison, the standard PlayStation 5 currently retails for $499.99, and the PS5 Digital Edition costs $449.99.
Design
The PS5 Pro will look similar to the existing PS5 Slim model, but with three black stripes on either side. Despite its increased power, the hardware will be the same size.
Notably, the PS5 Pro will not come with a disc drive, but players can add the Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc Drive previously released for the PS5 Digital Edition.
As with the existing models, PS5 Pro owners will be able to customize their hardware with console covers once those become available.
30th Anniversary Limited Edition
Sony has also announced the 30th Anniversary collection of the PS5 Pro and PS5 Slim which brings back the signature grey color from the PS1 and the colored PlayStation on the console. The texture of the inside of the console includes the 30th-anniversary version of the triangle, circle, cross, and square logo.
Similarly, the DualSense controller has also been redesigned with a gray color on the joystick area and a similar texture to the console. Furthermore, the original colors of the PlayStation buttons have been restored on the controller with a colored PS logo button as well.
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That’s not all − there’s also a new USB-C cable which now has a gray block on one side which is similar to the PS1 controller cord that gives players that retro feeling. The PlayStation Portal and PS5 DualSense Edge controllers have also undergone similar changes.
In case you’re interested in purchasing the special edition, pre-orders begin September 26, 2024.
Specs
The PS5 Pro is a much more powerful piece of hardware than the original, boasting the goal of combining fidelity and performance modes for a vibrant and smooth gameplay experience.
Sony broke the PS5 Pro’s improvements down to three new features:
- Upgraded GPU: With PS5 Pro, we are upgrading to a GPU that has 67% more Compute Units than the current PS5 console and 28% faster memory. Overall, this enables up to 45% faster rendering for gameplay, making the experience much smoother.
- Advanced Ray Tracing: We’ve added even more powerful ray tracing that provides more dynamic reflection and refraction of light. This allows the rays to be cast at double, and at times triple, the speeds of the current PS5 console.
- AI-Driven Upscaling: We’re also introducing PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution, an AI-driven upscaling that uses a machine learning-based technology to provide super sharp image clarity by adding an extraordinary amount of detail.
All this essentially means the PS5 Pro won’t make users pick between graphics and frame rate. As Cerny explained during the Technical Presentation, most players are choosing performance modes over graphics, which typically deliver 60fps at the cost of visual detail and raytracing.
With the PS5 Pro’s increased power, users will get the benefits of both, delivering the experience the developers intended.
On top of that, the PS5 Pro comes with a 2TB SSD, a DualSense controller, and Astro’s Playroom pre-installed.
Games & backward compatibility
Like with the PS4 Pro, Sony won’t split the PlayStation user base up depending on the console they happen to have. Every game will come to every version of the console that gets released.
That said, games will look and run better on the new console thanks to PS5 Pro Game Boost, which will improve over 8,500 backward-compatible PS4 games and PS5 games.
Beyond that, some games will be PS5 Pro Enhanced, receiving free updates that allow these titles to take advantage of the improved hardware. Here are the titles we know about so far:
- Alan Wake 2
- Assassin’s Creed: Shadows
- Demon’s Souls
- Dragon’s Dogma 2
- Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
- Gran Turismo 7
- Hogwarts Legacy
- Horizon Forbidden West
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
- The Crew Motorfest
- The First Descendant
- The Last of Us Part II Remastered
That’s everything to know about the PlayStation 5 Pro! For more on upcoming consoles, check out our guide on the Nintendo Switch’s successor, which features all the latest news, rumors, and speculation.
