Will there be a PS5 Pro?: Rumors, speculation & more

With rumors flying of a potential PlayStation 5 Pro, we go over all of the information out there right now to give you a better idea of what Sony could potentially be cooking.

Insider Gaming, notorious for publishing reports and leaks, has further backed up its report from March that there’s a PS5 Pro on the way. While the new update does include a key phrase (”… could be canceled at any given time…”) to protect itself from this being confirmed false. But, Sony does have precedent in launching stopgap consoles mid-generation. as demonstrated with the PS4.

Launched as a “stop-gap”, the PlayStation 4 Pro introduced a better GPU to the mix for better support for new “performance” modes in certain titles that increased graphical fidelity. Mainly intended to bring 4K gaming to the console, the PS4 Pro saw some success in its four years on the market.

It’s rumored that Sony is going for a similar strategy this time around. Rather than letting the hardware fizzle out over a five to seven-year period, these new stop-gap consoles would allow Sony and Microsoft to bring in fresher hardware for those that can afford it.

Just remember, everything written here is speculative, and should only be considered rumor for now. So, take any news that you see about the potential console with a huge grain of salt.

Is the PS5 Pro real? What is Project Trinity?

As of right now, no, the PS5 Pro isn’t real and is very much just speculation. However, Tom Henderson, the main source of this news, has previously been correct with some leaks. Whether this turns out to be true or not will have to depend on if we hear more about the console.

Henderson has referred to the PS5 Pro as ‘Project Trinity’ and said it has been in development since early 2022.

A lot of the expectations are based on the last generation of consoles when Microsoft and Sony added the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X to the roster of available hardware. Much like predictions surrounding the PS5 Slim, a lot of rumor is based on the hardware manufacturers’ previous actions.

When could the PS5 Pro launch?

The PS5 Pro isn’t rumored or even slated for this year, there are new leaks suggesting that the PS5 Pro will be coming in late 2024.

These come from the previously mentioned Tom Henderson who accurately predicted PlayStation’s portable streaming device ahead of the announcement. Writing for Key to Gaming, Henderson said to expect the PS5 Pro to launch in November 2024.

However, Sony appears to be gearing up for a PS5 Slim in the next few months.

Could the PS5 Pro be more powerful?

It’s expected that the PS5 Pro will be more powerful in terms of what it can provide graphically, but won’t leave the older console in the dust.

Like with the PS4 Pro, we expect that Sony won’t split the PlayStation user base up depending on the console they happen to have. Every game will come to every version of the console that gets released.

In his leak of the rumored release date for the console, Tom Henderson wrote that power would be a major focus for the new model.

“The PlayStation 5 Pro will be targeting improved and consistent FPS at 4K resolution, a new ‘performance mode’ for 8K resolution, and accelerated ray tracing,” Henderson said.

These rumors are lent credence by a tweet from user Onion00048, who spotted a new patent from PlayStation’s Mark Cerny in 2022.

Sony Interactive Entertainment has filed a new patent that suggests the format holder is looking to optimise its ray tracing effects on #PS5

— Gamingnews (@Onion00048) February 25, 2022

Cerny, the architect behind the PlayStation 4 and director of Knack submitted a patent indicating that Sony is investigating how to increase ray tracing performance on the PS5.

As this couldn’t be implemented via an update to the PS5 console and would require newer hardware, it’s expected that the PS5 Pro would focus on graphical fidelity much like the PS4 Pro.