The upcoming PS5 Pro has sparked mixed reactions among fans, with concerns about its price and upgrades. Digital Foundry experts have raised doubts about the console’s ability to run demanding games like GTA 6 at high resolutions and frame rates.
Sony’s new console, the PlayStation 5 Pro, is set to begin shipping on November 7. Interested customers can pre-order directly from Sony’s online shop starting September 26, while other retailers will offer pre-orders from October 10. Experts predict the Pro variant will be a sales success, evidenced by the separately sold disc drive already being sold out at some online retailers.
Performance expectations and limitations
PlayStation chief architect Mark Cerny claims that with the PS5 Pro console, players will no longer need to compromise between graphics and performance. However, tech specialists at Digital Foundry have expressed doubts after analyzing the PS5 Pro’s hardware.
When asked by IGN if GTA 6 would run at 4K and 60 fps on the Sony console, Richard Leadbetter, Technology Editor at Digital Foundry, gave a clear answer:
“No. Grand Theft Auto games have always performed complex simulations that heavily tax the CPU, which is why every GTA game initially launched at 30 frames per second (or less!) on target platforms. […] This isn’t a GPU problem, it’s a CPU problem.”
Console CPU too weak
GTA worlds are highly complex, requiring simulation and calculation of streets filled with vehicle and pedestrian traffic. As GTA 6 is expected to be even more demanding than its predecessors, it needs a high-performance CPU capable of handling all necessary calculations while still having resources left to increase the frame rate.
The PS5 Pro, however, contains only a Zen 2 with eight cores, offering a maximum clock frequency of 3.85 GHz, which may not be up to this task. Leadbetter believes that only if Rockstar Games manages to bring their game to 60 fps on ‘normal’ PS5 consoles would there be a chance for high frame rates at 4K on the Pro version. So far, there have been no signs of this happening.
PS5 Pro’s proving ground
Although GTA 6’s release is still some time away, the title will serve as an important test for the PlayStation 5 Pro. Rockstar Games’ creation will demonstrate whether purchasing the new console is truly worthwhile. The Pro variant must significantly outshine the ‘normal’ PS5 in terms of graphics and performance to justify its existence and price point.