Sony PlayStation 5 Pro 'Ultra-Boost' mode detailed as more flexible PS5 Pro Enhanced requirements leak

Tom Warren and The Verge have offered even more details about the PlayStation 5 Pro (PS5 Pro) and its associated new technologies. To recap, the pair delivered fresh insights into specifications for the forthcoming console, which is rumoured to be arriving this autumn. Additionally, Warren mentioned PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR), Sony's AMD FSR and NVIDIA DLSS alternative that is expected to upscale a 1080p image with a 4K/60 FPS target.

Supposedly, Sony will highlight games that natively support PSSR by creating a 'PS5 Pro Enhanced' category that will be shown on box art and on the PlayStation Store. According to The Verge, Sony's requirements for a game to be certified as 'PS5 Pro Enhanced' are not as strict as earlier rumours suggested. Until now, the likes of Tom Henderson claimed that a game would need to perform stably at 4K and 60 FPS with PSSR enabled to be classified as PS5 Pro Enhanced.

Instead, The Verge asserts that this category will include games that can meet one of the following requirements on the PS5 Pro that are out of reach for regular PS5 consoles (curr. $449.99 on Amazon):

• Higher dynamic resolution with a locked 30/60 FPS refresh rate
• Fixed resolution increase with a locked 30/60 FPS refresh rate
• Same resolution but a 60 FPS improvement
• Ray tracing enabled but the same target resolution and framerate

However, a game will not be 'PS5 Pro Enhanced' if developers only improve its minimum dynamic resolution, such as from 1080p to 1440p. Nonetheless, non-PS5 Pro Enhanced games could benefit from higher frame rates and resolutions through 'Ultra-Boost', a new mode exclusive to the PS5 Pro. Ultimately, the flexibility in Sony's PS5 Pro Enhanced requirements seems to be because the PS5 Pro will deliver just 10% CPU improvements compared to the regular PS5, details of which we have covered separately.