Sony Launches New PlayStation 5 Pro for $700

Sony announced a new console, the PlayStation 5 Pro (PS5 Pro), with better graphics and new features for $699. Pre-orders will be available starting September 26th directly from PlayStation and other retailers on October 10th.

“I’m incredibly proud to announce the next step in that evolution and welcome PlayStation 5 Pro to the PlayStation family – our most advanced and innovative console hardware to date,” wrote Hideaki Nishino, CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Platform Business Group.

Keeping creators and players in mind, the PlayStation team developed a new product with key performance features. Among the main upgrades, the company highlighted an enhanced GPU with “67% more Compute Units than the current PS5 console and 28% faster memory.” Players can expect a faster and smoother device than previous versions. Players can expect more realistic images with better lighting and more accurate visual experiences as it also includes more powerful ray tracing, casting rays up to three times faster than the PS5.

PlayStation also introduces AI-powered features on its PS5 Pro, with the new PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution, a new feature that will help refine images adding more clarity and “an extraordinary amount of detail.”

The company also announced that several games like Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, Hogwarts Legacy, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, and The Last of Us Part II Remastered, will get free software updates to adapt to the new PS5 Pro features.

The news has been shared on social media by PlayStation and other users. However, many users on X have complained about the price—40% more than the regular PS5— and the fact that the new console does not include a disk drive.

The journey continues with PlayStation 5 Pro.

⚬ Larger GPU
⚬ Advanced ray tracing
⚬ AI-Driven upscaling
⚬ PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution

Full details: https://t.co/TzMEbfbaH8 pic.twitter.com/kXu69olPNZ

— PlayStation (@PlayStation) September 10, 2024

“At £700?? For a console with no new games or disc drive? Did you get the Concord PR team to write this statement?!,” wrote one user on X referring to the online shooter game recently launched and taken offline just two weeks after its release. “Very cool but no disk drive. This makes it immediately a no-go,” wrote another.