If you’re waiting for a PlayStation 5 Pro, keep an eye on the rumors suggesting it’s currently in development and may be released in Q4 2024, though no official confirmation from Sony has been made.
Sony’s decision to release a mid-cycle console upgrade in 2017 was always going to have an effect on every new console coming after it. Regardless of whether it’s happening or not, the market will always look out for a “PS5 Pro” if only because Sony had done it before. And, while Sony has yet to confirm that a PlayStation 5 Pro is coming nearly three years in and 40 million PS5 units sold later, this hasn’t stopped the rumor mill from churning out new information. This time, the latest info comes from someone who’s had an excellent track record when it comes to leaks.
After “confirming” that a Pro variant is in development a few months ago, Insider Gaming doubled down on the said report, saying:
It’s been a hot topic of discussion as of late, but yes, Insider Gaming has previously revealed that Sony does have a PlayStation 5 Pro in development. Our report in March was dismissed as being inaccurate by many when it was first reported and although the PlayStation 5 Pro could be canceled at any given time, Insider Gaming can report with a 100% degree of certainty that the PlayStation 5 Pro is currently in development.
Whilst we cannot report on any more specifics at this time, we understand that the first dev kit prototypes will be going to 1st party developers within the next couple of months, with 3rd party developers receiving them by the end of the year.
Q4 2024 could either be anywhere between October to December 2024 or January to March 2025, but we’re betting on the former.
The timeline lines up with the release of the PS4 Pro, which came four years after the PS4 hit the store shelves. However, it’s hard to think that a PS5 Pro is indeed in development.
Official announcements (or lack thereof) aside, there isn’t a strong incentive for the PS5 Pro to exist. Don’t forget, the PS4 Pro was born out of necessity because of the sharp rise in the adoption of 4K TVs. The world has barely moved on from 4K resolution since. Even if 8K resolution monitors and TV sets (and higher) already exist, they’re not necessarily mainstream yet, even among hardcore gamers.
The PS5 Pro may instead aim for higher frame rates at 4K resolution with raytracing, which is definitely one possible reason.
The only problem with this is that this would make PS5 Pro exclusively for hardcore gamers, specifically, those who play FPS titles and other genres that benefit the most from higher framerates.
Still, nailing frame rates doesn’t justify a brand-new console enough, especially if it ends up selling for more than $500. It’s also worth noting that studios have barely pushed the PS5 to its limit. The current performance issues faced by the PS5 as well as the Xbox Series S/X have more to do with the lack of optimization than anything else. Electronic Arts confirmed this in its apology for the state of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor at launch.
A PS5 Pro could let gamers enjoy a dedicated ray-tracing graphics mode without sacrificing performance. Unfortunately, this speaks to a niche group within a niche community.
Finally, we’ve barely gotten started with current-gen games. Last year’s PS5 exclusives, Horizon Forbidden West, God of War: Ragnarok, and Gran Turismo 7, performed well even though they were cross-platform. Final Fantasy XVI and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 could change that. But, we doubt that either game could push the PS5 the way that The Last of Us did with the PS3, which signaled that the PS3 was in dire need of a generational jump.
Sony can justify a PS5 Pro if it’s built specifically for competitive gamers. The biggest esports titles aren’t on consoles, so this discussion is moot.
Honestly, the idea of the PS5 Pro is the only one we aren’t buying based on the same report. The rest are plausible like the new and slimmer design for the PS5 that’s supposedly coming out in September.
