According to a new rumor, Sony is planning to update the PS5 Pro console in 2024.
Back in September, we brought you claims that Sony was working on a new cheaper PS5 model with a removable drive. Now the same source, Inside Gaming’s Tom Henderson, claims that the PS5 Pro is also in the works.
According to leaked sources, Sony has a tentative release window of 2024 in mind for the new souped-up PS5 Pro console.
There’s no further news on what the PS5 Pro might look like or perform, but Henderson points to a recently published patent by PlayStation architect Mark Cerny for a method to optimize ray tracing effects on the PS5.
Ray tracing is a term that refers to realistic lighting effects in games and is a major graphics hallmark of the current cutting edge. The latest advanced PC graphics cards in particular excel in their ray tracing capabilities. The PS5 and Xbox Series can also handle ray tracing, but the technique is usually implemented in a limited way or via an optional mode that inhibits performance.
One has to assume that the PS5 Pro (or indeed the Xbox equivalent) will obviously feature the ability to run such ray tracing modes without compromising the same level of performance.
As with the previous generation PS4 Pro, the PS5 Pro will fill the gap for the release of a true next-gen console. Henderson claims the PS6 is unlikely to arrive until 2028. The PS5 could be a good fit to bridge that gap.
Hopefully it won’t suffer from the same supply issues that the PS5 suffered from at launch, and for quite some time after.