It's looking more and more likely that we'll see a PS5 Pro this year. With spec leaks, internal 'Enhanced' game labels circulating, and a late 2024 release date swirling through the rumor mill, things look like they're moving along. Of course, none of this has been confirmed or even acknowledged by Sony itself - but we certainly wouldn't expect them to at this stage.
A mid-cycle refresh is always par for the course. The PS4 saw its own Pro model launching at about the same point in its lifespan and while we have seen the new PS5 Slim take over on the shelves, it doesn't discount a whole new system by itself.
The Slim brought about a much needed change aesthetically, cutting the form factor of the PS5 down to a far more manageable size. However, everything inside remains the same. If early reports are to be believed, the PS5 Pro will take its enhancements below the surface, offering performance boosts across the board.
We're still very much in the debate stage of the mid-cycle refresh. That means all the PS5 Pro rumors spilling out across the web should be taken with a hearty grain of salt. As we've learned from previous launches, though, there's no smoke without fire - so we're rounding up all the latest updates right here.
PS5 Pro latest news and rumors
PS5 Pro release date rumors
This is where the PS5 Pro rumor mill is really starting to spin at the moment. Essentially, signs are currently pointing to a late 2024 release date for Sony's next generation console, with leaks from publisher dev kits and the brand's own roadmap hints fuelling the fire.
Word started to spread when Sony's Q3 financial results were published on February 14, 2024, stating that the PS5 was now in the "latter half of the console cycle." Aka just about the time in the PS4's life when the Pro was released.
These raised eyebrows were met with even more rumors once Colin Moriarty cited his own publishing sources when stating that the brand is looking at a Q4 2024 PS5 Pro release date. In Episode 295 of the Sacred Symbols podcast, Moriarty explains the following:
"I was told explicitly by someone that works at a midsize third-party publisher that they were given a presentation for PS5 Pro... and I said in the past too that I understand that first parties and second parties have already had access to, if not the kits, then the spec of what they're aiming for."
With developers receiving kits and updates around the PS5 Pro's potential power, things could be well underway here. The fact that this conversation was sparked by analyst Serkan Toto's assertions that "there seems to be a broad consensus in the game industry that Sony is indeed preparing a launch of a PS5 Pro in the second half of 2024" in a CNBC report means there's plenty more fuel for this fire.
A late 2024 release date would certainly make sense. After all, Sony wants its best console on the shelves for GTA 6, the Nintendo Switch 2 is reportedly being pushed to 2025, and Xbox is happy to publish its own games on rival systems as well.
PS5 Pro price rumors
There haven't been any leaks pertaining to the PS5 Pro price yet, which means we're still in the dark about what the new console could cost. However, there are a few waypoints we can set to arrive at a rough expected figure. The PS5 Slim offers a similar price point to the original console, with the disk edition coming in at $499.99 / £479.99. Ignoring the Digital Edition for now, we can assume that Sony will keep the Slim on the shelves while the Pro adds a more premium option to the fold.
This is what the brand did with the PS4 generation, cutting the price of the previous console to bring the new model in at the old MSRP. There's a problem here, though. It's not 2016 anymore and Sony has already had its word on a future PS5 Slim price cut. An investor call in February 2024 revealed that Sony won't be able to cut the cost of manufacturing the PS5 Slim enough to offer a price cut and still take home a profit. That means a permanent discount in the near future is looking unlikely, which in turn means the PS5 Pro could launch at over $499.99 / £479.99. Appearing on Colin Moriarty's Sacred Symbols podcast, analyst Chris Ray Gun suggested that the PS5 Pro price could sit at $599.
That's a tall order. It's potentially more likely that Sony will kill off the PS5 Slim all together, leaving retailers to swallow the discounts themselves as the Pro model takes over. In this case we could see a $500 PS5 Pro on the shelves, but - once again - this is all conjecture.
PS5 Pro design rumors
The PS5 Slim has already fixed one of the biggest frustrations with the original console's design - its bulky, heavy, awkwardly shaped form factor made it a nightmare to comfortably seat in a more subtle living room space. There haven't been any rumors or leaks around the PS5 Pro's possible design, but we can imagine it will follow the same aesthetic language as the original device. We may see that waistline expand a little following the Slim's reduction to allow for new components, but I'd be surprised if we went back to the full chonk of the original.
PS5 Pro specs rumors
It's difficult to predict what the PS5 Pro specs could look like. Early reports back in 2022, suggested that the PS5 Pro performance should be double that of the base console, but couldn't give exact specs or even reported hardware inclusions.
There's a whole lot of conjecture around the PS5 Pro's specs and very few substantial reports to back anything up. The PS5 is kinda already capable of 8K output, but a console dedicated to these turbo-ultra-high definitions could certainly be in the works. With Sony's recent push towards its own 8K displays, it's not out of the question that the new console would incentivize a more mainstream move beyond 4K. That goes hand in hand with what's widely believed to be coming our way; namely that the PS5 Pro should be concentrating on pushing reliable 4K 120fps gameplay with PC level ray tracing.
That line of thinking received a new stash of support when YouTube leaker channel Moore's Law Is Dead revealed a reported Sony document outlining the power of the PS5 Pro in March 2024. The rumored specs suggest that the PS5 Pro will offer a massive performance uplift compared to today's console, with up to 33.5 teraflops of power making it up to 45% faster than the PS5 Slim. That puts ray tracing speeds at 2x - 4x that of the current device, and with power dedicated to Sony's reported AI computational upscaling (supposedly named "Spectral Super Resolution") we've got more credence for previous 8K resolution claims. It's likely that, should the above be true, the PS5 Pro won't launch with this 8K support, but rather boosted framerates in 4K and 1440p - with the view to patch future higher resolution tech later on.
This was followed up with a leak pertaining to the requirements for games to be given a 'PS5 Pro Enhanced' label, reported and verified by Insider Gaming. The leak suggests that, to meet this standard, games will need to make use of an exclusive PS5 Pro graphics mode with 4K upscaling, consistent 60fps framerates, and boosted ray tracing effects.
This all comes months after October 2023 brought us a previous rumor from YouTuber Paul Eccleston of RedGamingTech. The video claims to have manufacturing sources providing an insight into the CPU and GPU capacities heading to the PS5 Pro. Within this video, it's rumored that the PS5 Pro will bump its total power up to 23 teraflops (compared to the launch console's 10.28), with CPU and GPU clocks running up to 3.6GHz and 2.7GHz respectively. It remains to be seen which report rings true at launch.
Want to expand your setup before PS5 Pro hits the deck? Check out the latest PlayStation Portal stock updates and all the best PS5 accessories on the market right now.
