Analyst says Sony may launch PS5 Pro before GTA 6 launches

Sony may reportedly release a PlayStation 5 Pro version later this year to help PS5 sales find a resurgence in the second half of the current console generation. PS5 has sold more than 50 million units since its launch in November 2020, but sales of the console are slowing. Sony will miss its PS5 sales target for fiscal 2023, with the Japanese electronics giant expecting sales this year to fall 4 million units short of its target of 25 million units.

Industry Analyst Tell CNBC claims that Sony may update its PS5 series in 2024. The Pro version of the console will come with newer hardware features and will likely be sold at a higher price than the base PS5. “There seems to be broad consensus in the gaming industry that Sony is indeed preparing to launch PS5 Pro in the second half of 2024,” Serkan Toto, CEO of Tokyo-based gaming consultancy Kantan Games, told the publication.

The analyst added that the PS5 Pro is aimed at preparing for the launch of Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto 6, which will be available sometime in 2025. GTA 6 is one of the most anticipated games of all time and is likely to be a huge hit, giving the entire gaming industry a needed boost. The game will be released on current-generation consoles, but a PC version has not yet been confirmed. GTA 6 is expected to stimulate sales of PS5 and Xbox Series S/X.

Sony launched a thinner, lighter version of the PS5 in November last year with slightly more internal storage and a removable optical drive. The PS5 slim retains the processing power, graphics capabilities, and pricing of the original console. The PS5 Pro will bring a sizable upgrade to the console’s hardware, likely delivering better frame rates at higher resolutions.

It’s also worth noting that Sony launched the PS4 Pro version about three years after launching the original PS4 in November 2013. The higher-end PS4 Pro comes with an upgraded GPU and supports 4K resolution.

Last week, Sony lowered its full-year PS5 sales forecast during an earnings call, lowering the estimate to 21 million units from 25 million units in fiscal 2023. The company also said it expects PS5 sales to gradually decline starting in the next fiscal year, with no major franchise games planned for 2024. Sony sold 8.2 million PlayStation 5 units in the third quarter of 2023, but operating profits from the company’s gaming business fell by about 25%.