Sony’s PlayStation 5 Pro Will Launch on November 7 at $699

Sony has officially announced its PlayStation 5 Pro console, which will launch on November 7, 2024 at $699.99/£699.99/€799.99. The console will come with a 2TB SSD, Wi-Fi 7, 8K support, and a free copy of Astro’s Playroom. However, customers who want a disc drive will need to purchase it separately. It’s the same detachable disc drive currently available for the PlayStation 5 Slim.

Sony revealed the console with a technical presentation from PlayStation architect Mark Cerny. The video is just nine minutes long and goes straight to the point: Sony’s goal with the PlayStation 5 Pro is to make the choice between “Quality” and “Performance” modes less of a dilemma for players. Quality modes usually offer more details at 30FPS, while Performance modes drop the resolution and decrease the amount of details to reach 60FPS or sometimes 120FPS.

Cerny said that 3/4 of players choose the Performance mode when it’s available because 60FPS feels more responsive. However, the PlayStation 5 Pro will be able to run existing and upcoming games at higher frame rates with increased detail.

Overall, the PlayStation 5 Pro brings improvements in 3 areas:

• Upgraded GPU: with 67% more compute units and 28% faster memory than the current PS5. This should lead to up 45% faster rendering for gameplay.
• Advanced ray tracing: For games that support this more realistic but resource-intensive method of rendering light, the PST5 Pro will be able to cast rays at up to three times the speeds of the regular PS5 console.
• PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR): Sony has created its own AI-upscaling technology for the PS5 Pro that will improve image quality in games.

Sony said that several existing PS5 games will soon be “PS5 Pro Enhanced,” including Alan Wake 2, 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, and The Last of Us Part II Remastered. That will also be the case for the upcoming Assassin’s Creed: Shadows from Ubisoft.

The PlayStation 5 Pro will also be able to enhance unpatched PS5 and over 8,500 backward-compatible PS4 games via a new PS5 Pro Game Boost capability. “This feature may stabilize or improve the performance of supported PS4 and PS5 games. Enhanced Image Quality for PS4 games is also available to improve the resolution on select PS4 games,” the company explained.

Regarding the console’s design, the height of the PlayStation 5 Pro is the same size as the original PS5, but the console is the same width as the current PS5 Slim. Sony also plans to offer alternative console covers for people who don’t like the white side panels. The new console will use the same system software as the PlayStation 5, and it will also be compatible with the same accessories (including the detachable disc drive I mentioned earlier). A vertical stand will also be available for purchase separately.

Pre-orders for the PlayStation 5 Pro on September 26, 2024. This will be Sony’s most expensive console ever, but the PS5 Pro is just $100 more expensive than the 2TB Xbox Series X console Microsoft announced for the holiday season. The Redmond giant already teased “the biggest technological leap ever” with its next-gen Xbox, but until that happens, Sony will have the most powerful console on the market.