Rumour | Sony has reportedly started handing out PlayStation 5 Pro devkits to game studios

Rumours about the PlayStation 5 Pro have been around well before the base console launched in 2020. Some of them ran wild, speculating that it would feature a dual-GPU setup. The PlayStation 5 has gone through multiple revisions since, even an SoC swap, but a Pro variant is nowhere on the horizon. That could change in the next year or two, according to a new report.

Industry insider Tez2 says that many developers have already received PS5 Pro devkits, or as they call it, "kits of mid-life upgrades". Those who haven't can expect to see one by early 2023. Unfortunately, Tez2 doesn't reveal much about its technical specifications. Besides, if the recently unveiled PlayStation 5 devkits are anything to go by, its specs will be nothing like the retail version. Among other things, it will likely pack a beefier AMD APU sprinkled with some RDNA 3 magic, a better cooling solution to keep thermals in check and hopefully, a 2 TB hard drive.

If the above rumour is accurate, it would be reasonable to assume a mid to late 2024 launch for the PlayStation 5 Pro. The previous-generation PlayStation 4 Pro was launched three years after the original. A four-year (or even five-year) gap between this generation's Pro and regular variant is understandable, given that the PlayStation 5 is still scarce two years after it was announced. Thankfully, one has the PlayStation 5 with a detachable disk drive to look forward to in 2023. 

While the arrival of the PlayStation 5 Pro could ruffle some feathers in the gaming community, developers might need the console's extra processing power. The PlayStation 5 is already beginning to show its age, with several upcoming titles, such as A Plague's Tale: Requiem and Gotham Knights, being locked at 4K 30 FPS. Even better-optimized games have a hard time running at 4K 60 FPS with raytracing, something that a decently-specced PC can do with the help of AI upscaling tech like DLSS and FSR.

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