8K gaming might be a pipedream for even the most powerful gaming PCs today, but that's going to change in a few years' time. With successive generations of graphics cards, 8K will become more and more viable, especially when you factor in super resolution gaming with DLSS and FSR. With that in mind, consoles won't be left in the dark, with the planned PS5 Pro console currently slated for a late 2023, early 2024 release window, and will be designed to make 8K gaming possible.
Microsoft has previously hinted that it will refresh its Series S/X consoles at around the same time, in the same way it did with the Xbox One. That leap will likely use a new 6nm AMD APU with more cores and higher clocks, and the PS5 Pro will make changes itself, but there are some rumors that it could leap to AMD's 5nm APU, with a new-generation Zen CPU architecture, alongside a future AMD GPU architecture too.
These claims come from hardware leaker, MooreseLawIsDead on YouTube, who said that the PS5 Pro would target a more premium player base, and may cost as much as $700 at launch. That's close to double the price of the original PS5, and certainly will be by the time the PS5 Pro launches, but it will target high frame rate 4K or even 8K gaming on a heap of new, higher-fidelity games using new engines like Unreal Engine 5.
All of the graphical power to enable 8K gaming will be expensive, though, especially off of the back of the global silicon shortage which is expected to stretch well into next year at the least. TDP is expected to rise too, with the console reportedly needing over 300W of power and thermal dissipation.
Would you be interested in paying that much for a PS5 Pro?
Image source: Snoreyn/LegsoDigital
