Sony has officially revealed the highly anticipated PS5 Pro, set to launch on November 7 with a hefty price tag of $700. Pre-orders will begin on September 26. As with the PS5 Slim, players will need to purchase a disc drive or vertical stand separately.
The PS5 Pro boasts significant upgrades compared to the original 2020 PS5 model. Sony’s aim is to reduce the need for players to choose between fidelity and performance modes by delivering enhanced graphical performance and more consistent frame rates. To achieve this, the Pro focuses on three main improvements: a larger GPU, enhanced ray-tracing capabilities, and AI-driven upscaling technology.
The new GPU has 67% more compute units and 28% faster RAM than the standard PS5, allowing for up to 45% faster rendering, according to lead architect Mark Cerny. Ray-tracing performance is expected to be up to three times faster than on the base model. The console will also feature PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR), Sony’s own AI-upscaling tech similar to NVIDIA’s DLSS.
Several major games will benefit from these upgrades, including The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered, Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, Horizon Forbidden West, and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. Third-party titles like Alan Wake 2, Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, Demon’s Souls, Dragon’s Dogma 2, and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth will also receive patches for improved visual fidelity and performance, all marked with the “PS5 Pro Enhanced” label.
Additionally, the PS5 Pro includes a game boost tool designed to improve or stabilize the performance of over 8,500 backward-compatible PS4 games, as well as PS5 titles that haven’t been explicitly optimized for the Pro. The Enhanced Image Quality tool will also improve resolution for select PS4 games. Other features include Wi-Fi 7, variable refresh rate, support for 8K resolutions, and 2TB of built-in storage—double that of the original PS5.
Despite its increased power, the PS5 Pro retains the same height as the original PS5 and the same width as the discless version. Alongside the console, players will receive a DualSense controller and a copy of Astro’s Playroom.
While the $700 price tag may deter some buyers, Sony is offering substantial hardware upgrades, unlike its competitor Xbox, whose recent updates focus on color changes, storage options, or removing the Series X disc drive. With over 61.7 million PS5 units sold as of June 2024, the introduction of the PS5 Pro alongside the PS5 and PS5 Slim strengthens Sony’s position in the ongoing console race.
