PS5 Upgrade Coming Soon, Dev Kits Already In AAA Studios: Report

In just almost a couple of years after their successful launch, Sony's new generation gaming console PS5 could see its mid-generation upgrade as early as next year, as suggested by the information shared by a reliable industry insider.

"Most AAA studios should have received the dev kits of mid-life upgrades or should receive them by the start of the new year," an industry insider who goes by the handle tez2 said on GTA Forums on Friday. His comment was a response to another user's comment who claimed, "Sony launching a new version of the PS5 (like a slim version) alongside GTA6 seems so more real now."

Sony has not yet said anything about the mid-generation upgrade of the PS5. However, an interview with Sony's Executive VP of Hardware Engineering Masayasu Ito in 2019 may have hinted at the release window of the console. Speaking with Game Informer, Ito said that the PS5 could have a shelf life of around six or seven years, with the PS5 Pro coming within three to four years into that period.

Moreover, the executive mentioned that while the cycle of a new platform is usually between 7 and 10 years, the cycle was reduced to just six or seven because of rapid advancement in technology. "Indeed, in the past, the cycle for a new platform was 7 to 10 years, but in view of the very rapid development and evolution of technology, it's really a six to seven-year platform cycle," Ito said.

"Then we cannot fully catch up with the rapid development of the technology; therefore, our thinking is that as far as a platform is concerned for the PS5, it's a cycle of maybe six to seven years. But [by] doing that, a platform lifecycle, we should be able to change the hardware itself and try to incorporate advancements in technology. That was the thinking behind it, and the test case of that thinking was the PS4 Pro that launched midway through the PS4 launch cycle," the executive added.

Based on Ito's statement, it appears that fans could see the mid-generation upgrade of the PlayStation 5 sometime in 2024. However, if the insider's claim that the development kits are already being tested by game developers, then it is highly likely that the PS5 Pro could launch sometime next year.