Update: Sony may be considering adding ads to free-to-play games on PS5 and PS4, according to a new report
Just getting hold of a standard PS5 remains a challenging task. PS5 restocks continue to be in short supply, but attention is already turning to the prospect of an even more powerful version of the console. The PS5 Pro has been a subject of speculation pretty much since the original PS5 dropped, and this latest rumor suggests that the system could be a bit of a beast.
YouTuber Paul Eccleston, under his channel RedGamingTech, has released a video that makes several claims about the currently unconfirmed hardware. We definitely advise taking all of this information with a substantial grain of salt, though. The possibility of a powerful PS5 Pro is an exciting one, but until we hear word from Sony, or at least reports from sources with historically strong track records, everything should be taken as speculation rather than hard fact.
For starters, the video states Sony is aiming to release a PS5 Pro towards the end of 2023, but with a release date sometime in 2024 also potentially on the cards.
This timeline does seem fairly plausible, as it mirrors the gap between the PS4 and PS4 Pro. The PS4 originally came out in November 2013, with a Pro model following almost exactly three years later in November 2016. A PS5 Pro launching during the final quarter of 2023, or early 2024, seems pretty reasonable, assuming Sony aims to follow the same schedule this generation.
The video also discusses what might be under the hood in a PS5 Pro. According to Paul’s sources, the console will offer significantly stronger ray tracing performance. Ray tracing has become a bit of a marketing buzzword, but it’s essentially a rendering technique that produces realistic lighting effects.
The PS5’s CPU performance is another area that Sony may look to upgrade, according to this video. The standard console has a GPU based on AMD's RDNA 2 architecture but the PS5 Pro may instead sport a refreshed Ryzen APU. If this all sounds like tech jargon to you, it essentially means that the PS5 will be able to run games more efficiently, with higher resolutions and better framerates.
The PS5 Pro will also reportedly work in harmony with the upcoming PSVR 2 headset. We know that virtual reality continues to be an area of great interest for Sony, so it would make sure for the console manufacturers to make sure its next hardware is well equipped to make gaming in VR even smoother.
This video from RedGamingTech also posits the existence of a PS5 Slim, which would be a redesigned PS5 with the same internal components in a smaller plastic casing. Sony has released a slimmer model of every single PlayStation console prior to the PS5, so the odds of a PS5 Slim seem extremely high. The PS4 Slim launched alongside the PS4 Pro, so Sony may opt for the same release strategy with the PS5 iteration.
This video is not the only rumor we’ve heard about the PS5 Pro this year. Earlier this month, import records revealed that Sony had shipped a “console prototype” from the U.K. to Norfolk, Virginia. This may be related to the PS5 Pro, but it could just be Sony moving an older PS5 prototype or dev kit between locations.
