After years of rumour and speculation, the release of the Sony PS5 Pro has been confirmed. We finally have a PlayStation 5 release date, price, and we know at least some of the main specs for a console that looks set to provide a significant boost to performance thanks to a bigger GPU and AI upscaling via PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR).
Inevitably, some will be disappointed by some of the details, including a hefty price tag and no optical drive as standard, but the prospect of improved ray tracing and PS5 Pro Game Boost improving performance in thousands of existing games, many are already eager to get their hands on the new console (let's just hope supplies are healthier than with the initial release of the standard PS5!). If we're not yet sure the console's for you, below we round up everything you need to know about the PS5 Pro (see our pick of the best game consoles for other options).
PS5 Pro: everything you need to know
PS5 Pro release date
The PS5 Pro release date has been confirmed as November 7, 2024. We're told that PS5 Pro pre-orders will start as early as 26 September, well over a month ahead of the release itself. That's at PlayStation Direct. Preorders at third-party retailers like Amazon, Target and Best Buy will open on 10 October.
- Preorder PS5 Pro from PlayStation Direct (from 26 September)
- Preorder PS5 Pro from Target (from 10 October)
- Preorder PS5 Pro from Best Buy (from 10 October)
PS5 Pro price
First the bad news. The PS5 Pro price is not cheap. It will start at $699.99 / £699.99 / €799.99. That base model doesn't include a disc drive or stand: both of those will be sold as optional extras.
That makes the PS5 Pro the most expensive PlayStation yet by a long way. For comparison, the digital edition of the PS5 started at $399 / £359 / €399. The PS5 Slim with the optional Blu-ray disc drive launched at $499 / £480 / €550. When the PS4 Pro was released back in 2016, it was priced at $399 / £349.
PS5 Pro specs
We don't yet know all the details of the PS5 Pro specs – the technical presentation by Mark Cerny on September 10 lasted under ten minutes, but we did get confirmation of some of the main aspects.
We know the console will have an 8x Zen 2 Cores at 3.5GHz (variable frequency) CPU. We don't yet have details of the GPU or RAM, but we're told the GPU will have 67% more compute units and 28% faster memory than the PS5, resulting in 45% faster rendering of in-game action. See our pick of the best graphics cards for gaming for comparison.
There will also be improved ray-tracing capability and Sony's own PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR) for AI upscaling, while the PS5 Pro Game Boost will boost the quality of around 8,500 PS4 games, which should mean improved resolution and faster and smoother framerates.
On-board storage capacity will be notably better thanks to a 2TB SSD. This makes sense considering the increased size of enhanced games and the fact that the console is digital-only by default, and it should allow for a lot more PS5 games to be installed and played from the console's own storage.
The console will come with Wi-Fi 7, a NVMe SSD slot and external SSD/HDD support via USB. As it's being plugged as an all-digital console, there will be no optical drive by default but a 4K UHD Blu-ray Drive will be offered as an optional extra for those who want to be able to play their collection of physical games. It will also be able to take an existing PS5 Slim disc drive.
PS5 Pro design
The PS5 Pro design offers no major surprises as it follows the PS5 Slim closely, with its curves and black and white palette. The only major visual difference is the addition of the black strips across each side. Like the PS5 Slim, the vertical stand is not included by default, so you'll need to buy this separately if you want to stand the console upright.
Sony has also announced a retro PS1-inspired edition of both the new PS5 Pro and the PS5. The special 30th anniversary PlayStation comes in classic PS1 grey and features colourful versions of the famous button symbols. It even features a multi-coloured version of the PlayStation logo itself. We're told there will be "highly limited supply" (and some of that will no doubt get picked up by scalpers).
FAQs
Is the PS5 Pro worth it?
With a starting price of $699.99 / £699.99 / €799.99 without a disc drive or stand, the PS5 Pro is a big investment, and that's likely to make many hesitate about whether to buy. Those who don't already have a PS5 already, are likely to find the standard console or the PS5 Slim to be enough for their needs, especially now we might see more discounts following the release of the Pro.
However, if you're a serious PlayStation fan and often find yourself frustrated by having to choose between fidelity and performance, the improved performance of the PS5 Pro could well be worth the money. We haven't yet been able to review the console ourselves, but the specs look impressive, and we expect it to provide the best experience possible from PlayStation games.
Will the PS5 Pro support 8K?
There was a bit of controversy over the Sony PS5 8K logo, which the company seemed to have started removing from PS5 packaging. According to the PlayStation Blog, the PS5 Pro will support 8K gaming.
What is PS5 Pro Game Boost?
PS5 Pro Game Boost is a feature that should provide faster and smoother frame rates in at least 8,500 PS4 and PS5 games. Each game will benefit from in different ways, but they'll be taking advantage of an upgraded GPU with 67% more compute units and 28% faster memory, resulting in 45% faster rendering, advanced ray-tracing, PSSR AI upscaling.
In the PS5 Pro technical presentation, we were told The Last of Us Part 2 and Marvel's Spider-Man 2 running on PS5 Pro achieve Fidelity mode-like visuals at 60 frames per second (FPS), running more smoothly while retaining comparable visuals.
The full list of games has not been revealed, but we're told that the following will get dedicated PS5 versions:
- 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
