Know which PS5 Pro games for the console will be a deciding factor in whether the $700 mid-gen refresh is worth buying over a base PlayStation 5 when it launches on November 7.
First, you should know that there will be no exclusive games or accessories for the PS5 Pro, and anything released for the PS5 will work on the PS5 Pro. So what exactly do you get with the PS5 Pro?
As with the PlayStation 4 Pro, developers can release enhanced versions of their titles to take advantage of the more powerful hardware. And if they don’t, all games (including PS4 titles) can take advantage of a “Game Boost” mode, even without a bespoke PS5 Pro version.
This guide will explain all of the first- and third-party PS5 Pro games confirmed so far, as well as any specific upgrades we know of.
What PS5 Pro game upgrades can we expect?
Image: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Unlike the PS4 Pro, which served the then-emerging 4K TV market, the PS5 has no specific selling point (8K is still too far away for the mass market; perhaps one for the PS6 Pro?)
Instead, it introduces three (or as Mark Cerny, the PS5’s lead architect, calls them, the “big three”): a larger GPU (graphics processing unit), improved ray tracing, and AI-driven upscaling – with the overall goal of combining the higher frame rates of a performance mode without sacrificing the visual quality that a fidelity mode would offer.
Thanks to a Detailed look at the technical specifications before the release from Digital Foundrywe have a good idea of what this all means in practice. For example, don’t expect every game with the PS5 Pro’s specs to now offer 60 frames per second, as the improvement in CPU/processing speed is a rather modest 10% (compared to the PS4 Pro’s 33% increase over the base PS4), suggesting we can expect more stability than significantly higher frame rates.
On paper, however, graphics performance seems significant, increasing from 10.23 teraflops to 33.5 (though in reality, this could be more like a 45% increase), while ray tracing will be two to three times faster than on a standard PS5. The bespoke upscaler (PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution), which uses machine learn ing using artificial intelligence, can meanwhile help achieve higher resolutions. Finally, while a 1.2GB memory upgrade is also planned, it sounds like this will be eaten up by the ray tracing and upscaler technology mentioned above.
Exactly how developers will use the improved technology will ultimately vary from game to game. With that in mind, the question is: which games will support the PS5 Pro’s new specs and what do we know about their upgrades ahead of release?
Confirmed first-party games updated for PS5 Pro
Image: Sony Interactive Entertainment
The following games from Sony’s first-party studios will receive PS5 Pro-specific upgrades and, unless otherwise stated, will be available alongside the PS5 Pro at launch:
- Demon Souls (no specific improvements specified)
- Gran Turismo 7 (supports ray tracing reflections between cars in gameplay at 4K 60fps and a dedicated 8K mode, according to CNET)
- Horizon Forbidden West (In addition to a general “increase in detail”, according to Mark Cerny, there are “improvements in lighting and visual effects” and in “hair and skin in film sequences”)
- Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered (includes “a range of graphical features enhanced to leverage the power of PS5 Pro while delivering” “ultra-high fidelity at lightning-fast frame rates”, says Jan-Bart van Beek from Guerrilla Games)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered (Insomniac’s entire PS5 Pro line uses a Performance Pro mode, which, according to core engineering director Mike Fitzgerald, offers “crisp 4K resolution and ray tracing capabilities of Fidelity mode with the fast 60 frames per second of Performance mode.”)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales (see above)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (see above; further confirmed details include greater detail from a distance, including trees and vehicles)
- Marvel’s Wolverine (TBC; will be released in 2025 at the earliest)
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Distant details will be clearer, such as during the opening parade scene)
- The Last of Us Part 1 (provides more visual detail at 60 frames per second, including sharper details from a distance)
- The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered (see above)
Confirmed third-party PS5 Pro upgrade games
The following games from third-party studios will receive PS5 Pro-specific upgrades and will be available alongside the PS5 Pro at launch unless otherwise stated:
- Alan-Wake 2 (new ray tracing details, output resolution at 4K/60 fps in performance mode)
- Assassin’s Creed Shadow (“improved ray tracing global illumination technology” and other visual improvements)
- Dragon Age: The Veilguard (Improvements to existing Fidelity and Performance modes will be offered on PS5 Pro)
- Dragon’s Dogma 2 (PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution and new ray tracing technology provide improved frame rates)
- F1 24 (new ray tracing details, such as in rainy weather where “the rain on the road reflected the car and the sky,” according to CNET)
- Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth (new enhanced mode that “combines the features of the existing performance mode and graphics mode” for a frame rate of 60 fps with a resolution “on par with that of the graphics mode”)
- Hogwarts Legacy (offers better ray tracing, “a greater variety of reflective surfaces and more realism in shadow rendering”)
- Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater
- Resident Evil 4 (runs at an unspecified higher frame rate)
- Resident Evil Village (supports frame rates of 120 fps)
- Rise of the Ronin
- Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (Respawn’s game runs at 2160p resolution in quality mode, while performance mode delivers a “solid 60 fps” […] with higher resolutions”, ray tracing for reflections and ambient occlusion, according to technical director Bobby Wilkinson)
- Starblade (4K resolution at “50 fps or more”, with support for frame rates of 80 fps)
- The Crew Motorfest (improves “visual settings and details even further”)
- The first descendant (advanced ray tracing, unspecified higher resolution and image quality)
You can take a closer look at Final Fantasy 7 RebirthThe improvements of – and the most comprehensive look at PS5 Pro gameplay yet – over Digital Foundry on YouTube.
Remember, even if a game isn’t mentioned in any of the lists above, all games will be playable on the PS5 Pro, whether in their current form or via an optional “Game Boost” mode that will be available for all existing PS4 and PS5 games. This just means they won’t take advantage of the hardware in the same way as a bespoke PS5 Pro version of the game.
