PS5 Pro Officially Revealed: Is it Worth the Upgrade?

Playstation finally lifted the lid on the worst-kept secret in the gaming industry: a beefed-up version of the Playstation 5, now known as the PS5 Pro.

The console features some improved hardware helping to run games at more stable frame-rates at 60 FPS, along with the following:

• Upgraded GPU: With PS5 Pro, Sony is 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: The hardware team 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: Sony is 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.

Other enhancements include PS5 Pro Game Boost, which can apply to more than 8,500 backward compatible PS4 games playable on PS5 Pro. This feature may stabilize or improve the performance of supported PS4 and PS5 games. Enhanced Image Quality for PS4 games is also available to improve the resolution on select PS4 games. PS5 Pro will also launch with the latest wireless technology, Wi-Fi 7, in territories supporting this standard. VRR and 8K gaming are also supported.

Here’s a showcase video highlighting the specific improvements in games:

There’s a catch

One of the caveats is that the PS5 Pro is digital-only and does not have a disc-drive, so an external PS5 disc drive will need to be bought if you’re looking to play physical games. An interesting choice from Playstation.

PS5 Pro Enhanced games

Several games will be patched with free software updates for gamers to take advantage of PS5 Pro’s features. These games can be identified with a PS5 Pro Enhanced label within their title. Some games you can look forward to include hits from PlayStation Studios and our third-party partners, such as 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, and more.

Design

In terms of its physical design, the PS5 Pro is consistent with the overall PS5 family of products. The height is the same size as the original PS5, and the width is the same size as the current PS5 model to accommodate higher performance specs.

Price & Availability

PS5 Pro will launch on 7 November 2024 with pre-orders opening on 26 September 2024 at a price of $699.99 USD, equating to around R12,500 ZAR. Actual local South African pricing is yet to be confirmed.