Devs Allegedly Pondering the Point of Sony's PS5 Pro Upgrade

There have been two big stories on the ground at GDC this year: Xbox’s flatlining brand and the purpose of the PS5 Pro. Speaking as part of a podcast, GamesIndustry.biz’s well-connected reporter Christopher Dring noted that he didn’t meet a “single person” at the show that understood the point of Sony’s mid-gen upgrade, which is rumoured to release later this year.

He clarified that he expects “PS5 fans” to upgrade, and thus there are inherent advantages for Sony. But games makers are struggling to get excited about the system. “Developers don’t really seem to feel they need it, at least the ones I spoke to,” he revealed. “Many feel they’re not really making the most out of the PS5 in the first place.”

Due to the aftermath of the pandemic and extremely long development cycles, we’ve not really seen a huge number of tentpole PS5 exclusives yet. “A couple of companies said this isn’t going to grow the market – it’s not going to move the needle,” Dring shrugged. “This generation doesn’t even seem to have got started really, let alone feel the need for a mid-generation update. How about we just get some original, next-generation software up and spinning?”

The journalist later clarified that he imagines Sony has reasonable expectations for the refresh, and the company knows it’s probably going to have niche overall appeal. As we’ve reported previously, innovative new features like PlayStation Spectral Resolution likely exist to improve the capacity of Performance Modes in titles like Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. Therefore, if that sort of thing appeals to you, you probably belong to the small segment of the market PlayStation is targeting.