Summary
As rumors regarding an upgraded version of thePlayStation 5grow more intense,Xbox Series Xplayers really won’t enjoy the latest reports regarding the so-called “Pro” version of the console. Sony has a tradition of launching upgraded hardware roughly four years into a console’s life cycle and while the company hasyet to announce anything for the PS5, an announcement could be imminent if it sticks with the trend it’s set over the last few generations. If a PS5 Pro does come to fruition, it could render one of Xbox’s major marketing points moot.
PerWccftech, some of the more credible leaks surrounding the PS5 Pro, which was reportedly treated like an “open secret” at Gamescom 2024, suggest thatthe improved console will be the most powerful on the market. If this is accurate,the device would seemingly surpass the Xbox Series Xwhich has often relied on being the most powerful video game console in the world as a key sales point. Microsoft may be looking to extend this lead with its own upgraded console but there’s next to nothing known about a mid-generation Xbox improvement at the time of writing.
The PS5 Pro Could Be A Massive Upgrade
The Specs Are Out Of This World
Before delving into the reports regarding the PS5 Pro, it’s worth remembering that while some of the leaked information seems credible, a grain of salt is recommended until Sony makes an official announcement. Based on some of the rumors,the Pro will sport a 45% performance improvement in rendering due to it having a larger GPUand faster memory. Its ray tracing architecture will also be overhauled to deliver a speedup average around three times faster than the base PlayStation 5.
Finally, Wccftech also notes thatthe PS5 Pro will reportedly feature “Custom machine learning architecture that supports 300 TOPS at 8-bit"which will be used to support the PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution. Stripping away the technical terms, the rumors simply claim that the PS5 Pro, if that is the naming convention Sony sticks to, will be a massive upgrade over the launch PS5. Whether these improvements areenough for a layperson to noticeremains to be seen.
As for Xbox,Microsoft is going all in on Game Passas a means of driving revenue asthe brand is seemingly transitioning to focus more on publishing software than developing hardware. Despite the launch of a 2TB Series X, the release of more Xbox-published games on other platforms has some speculating that consumers may not see another generation of Microsoft-designed consoles. It’s possible that Xbox simply doesn’t want tocompete with a PlayStation 5 Pro announcementso it could be waiting to officially unveil the improved Series X|S.
