Whispers of a more powerful reboot to the PlayStation 5 have been circling for some time, with analysts predicting that Sony will debut its beefier games console later this year to capitalise on interest in Grand Theft Auto VI, which will launch sometime in the new year.
GTA 6 is the sequel to the biggest-selling entertainment product of all time — selling over 190 million copies worldwide and generating revenue of $8.5 billion for Edinburgh-based developers Rockstar North and parent company Take-Two Interactive.
Fresh leaks claim to reveal some of the planned improvements coming to the upgraded PlayStation 5. According to Insider Gaming, the PS5 Pro (developed secretly inside Sony under the codename “Trinity”) is designed to offer consistent frames-per-second at 4K Ultra HD resolution, a new “Performance Mode” that upscales game footage to an 8K resolution, and improved ray tracing. The latter calculates realistic lighting in real-time, dramatically improving visuals.
Rendering will be up to 45% faster than the standard PS5.
Interestingly, the chipset powering the PS5 Pro will be identical to the original console, which launched back in 2020. However, the Pro will offer a “High CPU Frequency Mode,” that can take the CPU up to 3.85GHz — a 10% increase over the standard console.
Instead, the extra oomph comes from a more powerful GPU, which is purportedly up to 3x faster for certain tasks than existing PS5 consoles, sources say.
Sony’s in-house studios have been developing games on early versions of the upgraded hardware since September 2023, while third-party developers were given access in January 2024, Insider Gaming reports. In the coming weeks, new test kit will be rolled out globally that will contain finalised specifications ahead of a launch later this year, tipsters claim.
It keeps the same 1TB SSD drive introduced with the revised slim model of PS5 and PS5 Digital Edition, launched last year. This was an increase from the 825GB that launched with the original console, of which 667.2GB was usable space.
Of course, it’s worth taking all the above with a pinch of salt until Sony announces its revised console. These are only rumours and plans could see last-minute changes.
There’s another reason you might not want to wait until the rumoured release date of the PS5 Pro later this year to purchase a new console from Sony — the current crop of PS5s is on sale.
PlayStation 5 Slim, the svelte redesign launched less than a year ago, are on sale again from a variety of high street and online retailers across the UK. The console, which usually starts from £479 has been slashed by a minimum of £70. This matches a previous all-time low price for the console.
Amazon UK is selling the PS5 Disc Edition, which has an optical drive to play physical games and Blu-ray films, for £409. But Prime members will benefit from next-day delivery at no extra cost and an extra £20 discount, dropping the cost down to £389.
That’s the same price as the Digital Edition, which ditches the optical disc drive to cut its price, but is currently not available at a discount from any major UK retailers.
Amazon is offering an extra £20 off the PlayStation 5 sale price for Prime members only
AMAZON UK
One of the best deal comes from Very UK, which has discounted the console to £409 and bundles a free copy of Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga with every purchase, so you’ll have a game to sink your teeth into as soon as your shiny new console arrives in the post.
The PS5 Slim Disc console is on sale when bought from the PlayStation Store, but only down to £419.99, so you're going to have to spend an extra tenner if you want to buy it from Sony.
Mobile network EE has a number of bundles too, offering a pair of PS5 games for an extra £90 when bought with the console, or a second wireless controller and charging station for £40.
