Sony Could Launch a PS5 Pro in Time for GTA 6 Release, Analysts Say

Sony may reportedly launch a Professional model of the PlayStation 5 later this yr to assist PS5 gross sales discover a second wind within the latter half of the present console technology. The PS5 has bought over 50 million items since its launch in November 2020, however the gross sales for the console are slowing down. Sony is ready to overlook its PS5 gross sales goal for fiscal yr 2023, with the Japanese electronics large anticipating to promote 4 million items fewer than its 25-million objective for the yr.

Trade analysts told CNBC that Sony will probably refresh its PS5 lineup in 2024. The Professional model of the console would include up to date {hardware} capabilities and would probably promote at the next worth level than the bottom PS5. “There appears to be a broad consensus within the sport trade that Sony is certainly getting ready a launch of a PS5 Professional within the second half of 2024,” Serkan Toto, CEO of Tokyo-based video games consultancy Kantan Video games, informed the publication.

The analyst added {that a} PS5 Pro can be geared toward getting an up to date console prepared for the launch of Rockstar Video games’ Grand Theft Auto 6, set to reach someday in 2025. GTA 6, some of the hotly anticipated video games of all time, is prone to be a surefire hit, bringing a obligatory enhance to the gaming trade generally. The sport will launch on current-gen consoles and with no PC launch confirmed but, GTA 6 is predicted to invigorate PS5 and Xbox Sequence S/X gross sales.

Sony launched a slimmer and lighter model of the PS5 with barely greater inside storage and a removable disc drive in November final yr. The PS5 slim retains the unique console’s processing energy, graphical capabilities and pricing. A PS5 Professional would carry appreciable upgrades to the console {hardware}, probably promising higher framerates at greater decision.

It is also value noting that Sony launched a professional model of the PS4 round three years after the unique PS4 launched in November 2013. The upper-end PS4 Professional featured an upgraded GPU and supported 4K decision.

Final week, Sony cut down its full-year gross sales forecast for the PS5 at its earnings name, revising its estimates to 21 million items, down from 25 million items for the fiscal yr 2023. The corporate additionally stated it anticipated PS5 gross sales to steadily decline from the following monetary yr, with no main franchise titles deliberate for 2024. Sony bought 8.2 million PlayStation 5 items within the third quarter of 2023, however working revenue on the firm’s video games enterprise fell by round 25 p.c.