Only 20 games have been confirmed to have enhanced PS5 Pro patches, but this list should grow over time and lead to a new wave of game sales for publishers and Sony’s first-party game developers.
VIEW GALLERY – 2 IMAGES
With new PSSR upscaling, RDNA 3.0 Raytracing tech, and a hefty 67% GPU upgrade, Sony’s new PS5 Pro offers thunderous power upgrades over the PS5. Depending on the game, developers no longer have to choose between 60FPS performance modes or 30FPS 4K fidelity modes. The line between the age-old FPS vs graphics trade-off is blurring, and game devs can now scale their games in creative ways with the PS5 Pro.
On a business perspective, one of the biggest reasons to release mid-gen upgrade is to re-sell, or to first-time sell, software to buyers of the new system. We’ve seen this tactic manifest between actual hardware generations, like with the PS4 -> PS5 re-release upgrades, or “director’s cuts,” as Sony calls them. Most often, though, the PS4-> PS5 upgrade path is more linear and potentially even free. On a mid-gen level, we’ve seen developers roll out PS4 Pro enhanced upgrades in specific games for free, which can often lead to boosted sales as more consumers opt for the more powerful system.
This could also happen with the PS5 Pro.
The list of PS5 Pro-enhanced games is slim right now, but this should grow considerably over time as more developers utilize the Pro as a means to “practice” for the PlayStation 6, which will undoubtedly utilize a new generational leap of the current PlayStation Spectral Resolution (PSSR) technology.
The PS5 Pro is a way for Sony to innovate, iterate, and to give developers more of what they want–better horsepower, but scaled in such a way where it can be used creatively while pushing new boundaries for their respective game engines.
The lines between console generations are also blurring, especially with the need for games to be forward-compatible to new-gen systems, and the new systems to be able to play older PS5 games via backwards compatibility. This trend has led to a kind of bleed between the PS4 and PS5 generations; while the hardware is considerably different on a power scale level, the PS5 was always built from the ground up with backwards compatibility in mind.
This should also be the case for the PS6. Sony does not want to interrupt its console ecosystem with any un-needed disruptions. Making gamers start over from scratch with the PS6 and have to re-buy all of their software will cause an unrepairable schism in users. Evidence shows that about half of PlayStation’s current active userbase is still playing on PS4.
As for mass adoption of the PS5 Pro, this isn’t to be expected given the system’s high-budget $700 price tag. But for the enthusiasts shelling out this much for a console, we should expect these users to be more selective with their game purchases and buy titles that best utilize the Pro’s hardware.
Sony, for its part, could also start to mine its first-party games library even further and release new versions of older games with PS5 Pro enhanced qualities, extra features, and potentially even extra content to warrant a fully-fledged $50 – $70 purchase.
Taking a look at the 20-game PS5 Pro enhanced list shows a mix of both new and old games, some of which are years old like Demons Souls, and some of which haven’t even released yet, like Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
- Alan Wake 2
- Assassin’s Creed Shadows
- Demon’s Souls
- Dragon Age: The Veilguard
- Dragon’s Dogma II
- F1 24
- Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
- Gran Turismo 7
- Hogwarts Legacy
- Horizon Forbidden West
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
- Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
- Resident Evil 4
- Resident Evil Village
- Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
- Stellar Blade
- The Crew Motorfest
- The First Descendant
- The Last of Us Part II Remastered