PlayStation 5 Pro release date just got narrowed down massively

The opening months of 2024 will likely see a lot of speculation on when Sony plans to announce the PlayStation 5 Pro, an upgraded model that has been rumoured for some time now.

The console is rumoured to increase texture fidelity, improve ray-tracing capabilities, and generally make everything that bit shinier and faster. Well, Tom Henderson of InsiderGaming has mentioned that the console could be announced at CES, which is only a week away.

The PS5 is already a bestseller, will the Pro model improve on that?

Is it likely? Well, at this point, who knows? Sony has been keeping their cards close to their chest and the only reason we even have many of the rumours we do is because of AMD announcements in the latter half of 2023. Henderson goes on to say “Personally, I'd be surprised if they were to announce a new console 9-10 months from release if that's the timeline they are still going with. So I'm more inclined to believe a late Q3 announcement.

He has a point. By announcing too early in the year many consumers would simply wait for the new console and grab it as we near the next festive season. By announcing in Q3, there’s only a small gap between the news and the busiest buying season of the year. This would also incentivise selling off older models on a discount for Christmas 2024, while others swoop in on an upgraded model.

Of course, this isn’t the first time Sony has introduced a Pro model to their console line-up, we saw it with the PlayStation 4. That could easily be seen as a trial run for something they’ll do from here on out; introducing mid-cycle improvements. Whether it’s needed or not is another matter and many believe the tech improvement to be minimal. Even if it’s an excuse to beef up loading times, improve DLSS compatibility and work out some kinks, it’ll likely sell like hot cakes.