PS5 Pro rumors and leaks: What we know so far about Sony’s next gaming console

Dhruv Bhutani / Android Authority

The PS4 Pro was only a slight iteration of the PS4. It used the same controller, played the same games, and had all the same features. Its main reason for existing was to allow for smoother gameplay, 4K support across various games, and a few other quality-of-life upgrades. If a PlayStation 5 Pro exists, what will it offer?

In this article, we have rounded up all the credible rumors we’ve seen so far related to a PS5 Pro. We’ve also compiled a wishlist of features we hope to see, even if we haven’t seen any evidence for them yet.

Will there be a PS5 Pro?

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Much like the mythical Nintendo Switch Pro, Sony has not confirmed a PS5 Pro is on the way or even in the works. Believe it or not, Sony launching a “Pro” version of its home game console has only happened once. The original PlayStation, the PlayStation 2, and the PlayStation 3 never saw Pro-level models. That means we are banking a lot on the existence of the PlayStation 4 Pro in our assumption that there could be a PlayStation 5 Pro.

That being said, there is plenty of evidence to support a PS5 Pro is likely to happen.

The CEO of Take-Two Interactive — the studio behind the Grand Theft Auto franchise — went on the record to say he thinks a PS5 Pro will happen. Meanwhile, leaker Tom Henderson said, “with a 100% degree of certainty,” that the PlayStation 5 Pro is “currently in development.” Prominent games insider Jeff Grubb of GamesBeat and Giant Bomb also joined in the chorus and claimed on his Game Mess podcast that industry insiders have confirmed a mid-gen upgrade is happening. When leakers, journalists, and game industry CEOs are all in agreement, it seems a foregone conclusion that we’ll see a Sony PlayStation 5 Pro at some point soon.

We’ve also seen the supposed codename of the device leak: “Trinity.” This is, without a doubt, a reference to The Matrix film series. Previously, Sony has used Matrix-themed codenames, such as for the PlayStation 4 Pro (“Neo”) and the PlayStation VR (“Morpheus”).

Another leak, this time from Im A Hero Too, claims Square and Sega both have new PS5 devkits. It’s pretty reasonable to believe this is further confirmation that the PS5 Pro is on its way in 2024. More recent leaks also indicate that the PS5 Pro exists and is on track for a launch before the holiday season.

When is the PS5 Pro likely to be released?

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In the Game Mess podcast mentioned earlier, Grubb initially said that he had heard that the PS5 Pro is scheduled for September 2025. Shortly after, he corrected himself, stating that he wrote down 2025 but is fairly confident the system is supposed to be out in 2024.

What features and specs could the PS5 Pro have?

Oliver Cragg / Android Authority

As mentioned earlier, the star feature of the PlayStation 4 Pro was 4K support. As it stands today, the PlayStation 5 already supports 4K on a huge selection of titles. Technically, it even supports 8K. However, 8K support is limited to just one game — and it’s not a very popular one. It’s possible the PlayStation 5 Pro could support 8K natively on more titles or even 8K upscaling on games that don’t have that resolution natively. The report from Insider Gaming mentions that support for resolutions up to 8K is planned for future software updates of the PS5 Pro.

This resolution upgrade would necessitate an upgrade in hardware. The PS5 runs on a custom processor based on an AMD Zen 2 build combined with a custom RDNA 2 GPU. One theory, originating from RedGamingTech on YouTube, is that the new PlayStation could have a new Ryzen APU, which would also be customized significantly.

The Sony PlayStation 5 Pro would likely feature slightly upgraded hardware, but it certainly would not be a PS6.

Later, in December 2023, a full set of specs for this supposed processor leaked. Allegedly, the processor comes with the codename “viola” and is still based on the AMD Zen 2 architecture. This makes sense, as the PS5 Pro getting a whole new processor would make it more like a PS6, so there are no surprises there. Check out the rest of the leaked specs below:

Based on this leak, the Sony PlayStation 5 Pro could be capable of smoother refresh rates and better graphics processing. Many PlayStation games give you the option of prioritizing graphics or performance. It’s possible Sony could lean into this more, with the PS5 Pro capable of rock-solid 120fps gameplay at higher resolutions or rock-solid 4K graphics at variable refresh rates.

YouTube Channel Moore’s Law is Dead revealed some GPU specifications, and these were corroborated by another Insider Gaming report. The GPU is said to offer 33.5 Teraflops of single-precision compute, as against the regular PS5’s 10.28 Teraflops. The numbers cannot be directly compared, though, as there are changes in the underlying AMD RDNA architecture, so you could be looking at about 45% faster rendering than the PS5. You can also look forward to 2-3x better ray-tracing performance, going up to even 4x better in some cases. Other tidbits include a custom machine learning architecture and an AI accelerator supporting 300 TOPS of 8-bit computation.

Another report, this time from Digital Foundry, claims that the GPU has a clock speed of 2.18GHz with a boost speed up to 2.35GHz. Meanwhile, the cache of the GPU has been upgraded with the L1 cache offering 256KB and the L0 cache going up to 32KB. These numbers double what you get with the PS5’s GPU. On top of improvements to the clock speed and cache, Sony has also fit in new DirectX 12 Ultimate features such as variable rate shading and hybrid MSAA. Altogether, these enhancements will reportedly boost performance by 45%.

Once again, Jeff Grubb mentions that the PS5 Pro could have its own proprietary upscaling technology similar to NVIDIA’s Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) technology. A patent discovered by GameRant confirms Sony is at least thinking about proprietary hardware-driven upscaling that uses machine learning to improve a game’s performance and visuals. The reveal from Moore’s Law is Dead indicates that this could take the shape of “PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution” (PSSR) upscaling.

Another thing that could see improvement is ray tracing. The PlayStation 5 supports ray tracing, but it requires the system to work pretty hard and requires some performance trade-offs. Upscaling hardware could give the system what it needs to support ray tracing more efficiently and on more titles.

It appears ray tracing may be what Sony wants developers to focus on when creating games for the PS5 Pro. According to The Verge, sources close to the subject say developers are being asked by Sony to make sure their games are compatible with the Pro and “focus on improving ray tracing.” Moreover, Sony is said to be encouraging developers to use the label “Trinity Enhanced” (PS5 Pro Enhanced) if the improvements are significant.

The report goes on to corroborate previously reported leaked specs, like a more powerful GPU and faster CPU, while adding that Sony is increasing the system memory by 28% to 576GB/s. It’s also expected that this increase in speed and memory could be used to further support the aforementioned PSSR technology.

Another report from the publication explains the qualifications for earning the PS5 Pro Enhanced label. One way includes increasing the target resolution for PS5 Pro games that run at a fixed resolution on the base model. Another way is to increase the target maximum resolution for games that run at a variable resolution on PS5. This means a game that runs between 1080p and 1440p at 30FPS on PS5, but runs at 1440p and 2160p on the PS5 Pro at the same FPS would be eligible for the Enhanced title. Additionally, developers can earn the label by enabling ray-tracing effects in a game that didn’t have it before. No raising of the resolution would be needed for this option. Finally, if the developer were to raise the FPS (e.g., from 30 to 60) despite having the same resolution, this would also qualify for the Enhanced label.

Some improvements that wouldn’t qualify for the Enhanced label include stabilizing the frame rate on the Pro. The developer would also be denied if the game runs at a variable resolution on the PS5 and the increased resolution on the Pro didn’t increase the maximum resolution. For example, if a game that had a variable resolution between 1080p-1440p on PS5 was bumped up to a variable resolution between 1280p-1440p on PS5 Pro, that would not qualify.

Older games would reportedly benefit from the PS5 Pro as well. Even if the game isn’t updated to the latest SDK, the new console will have an “ultra-boost” mode. This mode would allow VRR modes to run at a higher frame rate, as well as help games with a variable resolution hit higher resolutions. However, ultra-boost won’t provide improvements for every old unpatched game, like those that have fixed resolution and graphical settings. But the report claims that developers can still use PSSR with their un-updated games, and Sony may also give these developers access to additional system memory.

Insider Gaming has reported that the PS5 Pro could come with an identical CPU to the regular PS5. However, the PS5 Pro could come with a “High CPU Frequency Mode,” which would take the CPU to 3.85GHz over the current 3.5GHz, which is a 10% increase. A caveat noted for this feature is that it could downclock the GPU and result in about 1% lower GPU performance.

The RAM on the PS5 Pro is said to be running at 576GB/s, as against the regular PS5’s 448GB/s speeds. This is a 28% increase over the standard console. The RAM is also said to be more efficient, so the bandwidth gain could be even more. As for the storage, the PS5 Pro could come with a 1TB internal storage variant. Further information on storage is not available at the moment.

The Audio Compute Voice (ACV) is also said to be running at a higher clock speed, with the Audio Compute Module library boasting 35% more performance. The end result is that more complex sounds can be processed quickly.

Insider Gaming also suggests that the PS5 Pro will feature a detachable disc drive. This will likely be similar in implementation to the current PS5 SKU.

Sony PS5 Slim with detachable disc

More recently, a new leak courtesy of reputable PlayStation leaker billbil-kun suggested that Sony’s upcoming console will indeed be named the PlayStation 5 Pro. This information was shared in a report on Dealabs, which also included a sketch of the console supposedly based on its retail packaging. The design appears to resemble the PS5 Slim, sharing the same overall form with dual USB-C ports and the power button situated on the front.

Looking at this image, the only noticeable distinction between the PS5 Slim and the Pro seems to be the three black stripes on the detachable covers of the latter, compared to the Slim’s single stripe. Additionally, billbil-kun indicates that the PS5 Pro is expected to be marginally thicker than the Slim version, which aligns with the rumored performance enhancements.

The important thing to remember, though, is that this will not be a PS6. The PS5 Pro would be a better iteration of the current console, not some wild leap forward. Only the most demanding gamers would feel the need to upgrade from a PlayStation 5, but it could be the nudge needed for people still using a PS4.

Another patent from the console maker hints toward a feature capable of dynamically adjusting a game’s difficulty. The feature appears in a patent called “Adaptive Difficulty Calibration For Skills-Based Activities In Virtual Environments,” and aims to keep games engaging by lowering or raising difficulty according to the player’s skill.

What might the PS5 Pro price be?

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For context, the PlayStation 4 cost $399 when it launched in 2013. In September 2016, the PlayStation 4 Slim landed, and it only cost $299. In November 2016, the PlayStation 4 Pro launched at $399. Therefore, there is a precedent that Sony could drop the price of the regular PlayStation 5 and launch the Pro model at the $499 price we see today. However, with Sony launching “new” PS5 consoles in November 2023 with the same or higher prices as we saw in 2020, it is possible the Pro model — if it even comes out — could be much more expensive.

The final PS5 Pro-related reveal Grubb had on his podcast was the potential price. According to the GamesBeat journalist, he expects the system to be on the more expensive side, possibly selling for $600.

We hope the PlayStation 5 Pro doesn’t cost more than $500, though. The last time Sony went over that mark with the upgraded 60GB PlayStation 3, it was not well-received, to say the least. With inflation rates soaring, we could see it hit ~$550, but fingers crossed that doesn’t happen.

We’d wait, at least until November of this year. If there’s still no word of a new model by then, it’s safe to say it won’t be seen until 2026 and so at that point you might be best serviced by getting a standard PS5.

Sony Playstation 5

Sony Playstation 5

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Enjoy the hottest games with this powerful console

Sony brought a lot to the table with its next-gen console. Unless you're dying to play one of the PS5 exclusives or you can't wait to experience the enhanced graphics and smoother gameplay, existing PS4 owners may want to wait for discounts. However, if you've never owned a PlayStation console, now is a fantastic time to press start.

Sony PS5 Pro: What we want to see

Dhruv Bhutani / Android Authority

It would be great to see the Sony PlayStation 5 Pro have a better grip on thermals. Even if it ran a few degrees cooler at heavy loads, that would be nice. This would likely require some redesign of the internals and possibly even a new type of case. Still, a classy redesign could add to the appeal of upgrading to the Pro model, so that would be a win-win.