Sony Confirms Big PS5 Pro Upgrade Is Out in March, Better PSSR Upscaler

Hair Stranding 2.0: Cerny's Bobcut.

I knew it, DF virtually gave the game away yesterday and also starting Resident Evil this morning it's immediately noticable how good the image quality is on the Pro's RT mode, more so than pretty much any other game I've played on console, especially with such RT features

After watching DF’s video it was apparent that this is the new PSSR. 1080p, 60 fps but with ray tracing and the final image gives a clear 4K resolution. Based on everything, this would be either equal to FSR4, or between FSR4 and DLSS 4.5, which in itself is INSANE. This is a game changer, no two ways about it and it’s the final incentive I needed to jump the gun and buy the Pro. Lets see what the people laughing at the Pro have to say now.

@BaldB3lper78 to be honest if you don’t have a keen eye for this it’s quite hard to see it on a phone or monitor. I was at a friend’s house and he was playing Returnal and Forbidden West on his Pro. Trust me, the difference is quite apparent once you see it on a big TV screen.

Really excited for this.
But will it make Aloy’s hair not have a mind of its own and move around independent of the laws of nature? 😅

@BaldB3lper78 Look at the hair.

Absolutely amazing. Can’t wait to try it out with Alan Wake 2, SW Outlaws and GT7.
Also curious about which older games might get an additional update/patch.

I pointed this out yesterday, but it's really odd/coincidental that RER uses upscaling tech, usable on the Pro only, which is a 'gigantic' improvement over other versions.
Whether this is PSSR2, an early build trial etc (which could have been added in the last firmware update), I don't know; but its now clear Capcom have been collaborating with Sony on this.

@Th3solution lol Bro, total misunderstanding of the whole topic
PSSR has nothing to do with physics and the Horizon games not even using PSSR.

@BaldB3lper78 I've never been able to see any difference in PS5 Pro footage compared to the base PS5.

@BaldB3lper78 just look at the hair and might give it a look an a bigger screen and not only your smartphone.

@Jackthelad93 😅😅 at least might save you some money.

@LiamCroft I'm a little confused. The way that DF is talking about RE, it sounds like PSSR2 is already being used, but Sony's press release says that PSSR2 will be rolled out "in the coming weeks." How can a game be taking advantage of PSSR2 if our consoles haven't been patched yet?

@ChikaBambus so true but honestly even ghost of Yotei was pretty amazing on the RT Pro mode. Also 1080p native upscaled to 4K.

@BaldB3lper78 Quickly swap between both images and you will notice that hair is much more crispier and detailed. Is it gamebreaking improvement? No. But every improvement is small step forward.

@ChikaBambus did DF already got hands on PSSR 2.0? Are you sure? Didnt they use regular PS5 PRO as rest of us?

@wildcat_kickz it was likely added as part of a recent update but without the ability to turn it on, or is portable with Requiem which is a bigger file on PS5 vs Xbox

@ChikaBambus
It won't stop the Pro haters from saying that they still 'can't see a difference'...

Finally. Let's go.

I've been in love with the pro. I owned a ps5 slim for a week, sold it and the bought a pro purely based on death stranding 2 alone.

Funny the people that say it's a waste of money etc etc clearly haven't used it side by side with a ps5 on a decent TV.

I would love to see the shimmer issue fixed in certain games though ... Silent hill 2, re2r, Alan wake 2 spring to mind. Didn't spoil my enjoyment but it would be fantastic to clean up the image.

@wildcat_kickz I don't really know, the only thing I can think of is DF were given the PS5 Pro firmware patch ahead of time to test it.

The PlayStation Blog post definitely says it's out for normal PS5 Pro users in March / the coming weeks, suggesting it's not live yet.

@Jackthelad93 Two things about such comparisons are:
1. Youtubes compression messes up how good a thing actually looks on video.
2. Images don't really do justice to seeing the game in motion on a real screen.

It's why the PS5 PRO has been so difficult to market where the PS4 PRO was easier.

@LiamCroft my understanding is Requiem already uses it and perhaps has a portable mode included (it's a larger install than other platforms) and the general release will be later

@cainhurst94 same thing here that we already are at a pretty good visual quality for games. These more in depth features of the pro console aren’t that easy to show and most often not so interesting for the average gamer, which is also ok in my opinion.

@REALAIS it appears they had access to it before the general public, obviously. Them confirming it seems to mean that Sony will officially reveal it pretty soon which matches what the leaks said, pretty exciting.

@Rich33 Let them live in their own deluded word

@Reeneman I'm holding off from playing it and avoiding spoilers like the plague. Cant wait to get the Pro and start enjoying it, especially with that game.

@LiamCroft it’s already used in the new resident evil. The toggle to activate it in older PSSR games will be added with a system software update on march.
There is currently a beta firmware test for the ps5 (pro) but the toggle isn’t included as it seems.

@wildcat_kickz @carlos82
Its completely possible that the current 'mystery' upscaling tech used for the RT mode on Pro is PSSR2 or at least a pre release version. Its certainly only possible to run this tech on the Pro.

It could have been added in the last firmware update, exclusively for RER to use (or maybe via the game files).

If this is the case, the reason why they are likely not claiming it to be PSSR2 is that either the version of PSSR2, or Capcoms implementation of it, are not yet complete, and the game will receive a further visual boost in March to coincide with the full release.

@BaldB3lper78 That is because you are smart. and even if you see the slightest is it worth upgrading.

Re reading the image above, this appears to confirm that any older game which uses PSSR will automatically upgrade to PSSR2 without an individual game patch, and the toggle is to go back to the original if there is some unforseen issue.

Edit - this is confirmed in the DF video.

Requiem looks incredible on the Pro. Straight up one of the best looking games in console.

In the current system software beta the toggle isn’t included, sadly

@Rich33 exactly this!
Still curious which older games might get an additional patch.

@wildcat_kickz Correct — PSSR2 is already being used.

So, Sony has already provided the upscaler technology to some developers to use in their games. This does not require any firmware update for the PS5 Pro.

What the firmware update will bring, is the ability for PS5 Pro users to apply the new upscaler to games that currently use the older version of PSSR.

@GDoggyJr Interesting. So PSSR2 could improve games that use the older PSSR without the games themselves being patched? Or would devs need to patch the games to actually take full advantage? I guess I'm a little confused on how PSSR actually integrates with games. From what I understand, the devs need to integrate the tech into the game itself, rather than having the upscaler used as a post-processing trick simply layered on top.

@wildcat_kickz The way I understand it, PSSR is a software library to utilize the PS5 Pro hardware for upscaling - this means a game can theoretically have a newer version linked in its build, while the general system update will allow the console to utilize the new tech in games that have the older version themselves.

Make sense because Requiem looks phenomenal on the Pro. I started my playthrough last night. Easily one of the best looking games I've seen on Pro, so far.

@Voltan I think that makes sense, haha. I'm a bit of a dummy when it comes to this kind of stuff, but definitely appreciate the explanation!

@LiamCroft there's a new beta out for ps , im now wondering if I should download it to see if it includes it, no mention of pssr in the notes though, but im thinking they wouldnt because it hadn't been announced.

Cool!

So does this just work out of the box or do devs need to patch their games in to support it?

@Reeneman
I'm listening to the DF video as I type, and they have said that older games using PSSR(1) won't need a patch - this will be done on a system level, with a toggle in case of an issue.
(I suspect thats what the extra 6m of support is about, to clear any bugs found in individual titles when it auto upgrades)

Honestly, if this is all true, this sounds like it could be great news as we were all expecting that individual devs would need to patch their games, and it seems that is not needed.

@Angelus3K have you checked i was thinking the same thing

I wonder if crimson desert will include this , id say definitely gta6, that 60fps doesnt seem as hard to believe now

Nice.. why can't I be concise with just 'Nice' "no you can't be succinct you c#@t"

Would be cool if PS7/8 are released via updates on PS6, charging some £100, consoles would now be dlc. 😉

I guess it's an age thing and coming from playing 8-bit games and upwards but I really don't care about stuff like this at all. Does slightly sharper 4K Hair make the game any more fun to play? No. Does the original one look so bad you have less fun? No.

@Rich33 yes, with the toggle you can apply PSSR 2 to all existing PSSR titles. But still some devs might will fuehrer update their games to apply some changes to their games to let them run better with the new PSSR.

@Angelus3K sadly it’s not there in the beta. I hope it will be accessible in one of the next beta updates. Would love to try this out as soon as possible.

This is awesome news for Crimson Desert, James Bond, Phantom Blade 0, Wolverine, GTA VI.

I especially can't think how Wolverine will look given Insomniac's pedigree in giving us RT with 60 fps etc. even before this.

@Scottyy the framerate itself isn’t that much related to an upscaler like PSSR. There is no frame generation part of this upscaler.
An upscaler gives you room to let your game render with a lower internet resolution (1080p or a little bit lower) and save on additional costs for anti aliasing. The upscaler itself needs of course some processing power as well but not as much as a native 4K rendering.
With saving these performance costs it gives the devs more room for higher framerate and more details.

@wildcat_kickz Yes, so long as you have the toggle enabled, games with PS5 Pro patches that use the older version of PSSR will instead use the new PSSR. (This is based on Cerny's comments on the PlayStation blog post from today.)

What's sociologically interesting is that this contradicts the widely held belief, propagated by Moore'sLawIsDead and many redditors, that the new PSSR would require per-game attention from developers. This was asserted with near certainty, despite Cerny stating in an interview last year that he did not know whether the update might apply backwards to older PSSR games.

You are right that PSSR isn't a post-processing trick applied afterwards, and must be built into the game. I can't say I know much about how it works either. It's worth noting that the toggle will not apply PSSR to games that didn't use PSSR to begin with (e.g., Elden Ring, Horizon Forbidden West). But, fingers crossed it'll improve some of the shakier PSSR implementations (e.g., Alan Wake 2, Silent Hill f).

Also curious to see how Jedi Survivor looks with the new PSSR.
And how PSSR will now compare to UE5s own upscaling. So far this was most often much better as PSSR in these games - Hellblade 2 as the only exception. Can’t wait for all these comparisons by DF and others.

I'd need a Pro and a better telly if this was to be of interest to me, neither of which I'm bothered about. But good to know Mark Cerny is getting everything bug-tested for the PS6.

Wonder if this will make silent hill play nice now. Requim looks absolutely stunning

@BaldB3lper78 Unless you're viewing on like a cell phone screen, you might need to schedule an eye doctor appointment.

In time for Crimson Desert? 🤔

Dam I’m so happy now

Will be interesting seeing how Avatar looks with it.

@DennisReynolds
Now Avatar could finally look smooth and sharp and no fuzz.
Will it need a patch for it.

Saros is going to be incredible with this.

It looks identical to me. Was the same pic uploaded twice by mistake?

@ChikaBambus “ Lets see what the people laughing at the Pro have to say now.”

its still dated hardware compared to most PCs specs these days. PS5 pro is what the ps5 should’ve been lol

@Rich33 Im a day 1 Pro adopter, love my pro, and I cant see a single difference here. Im assuming its either a pic error or just a bad comp.

@OldGamer999 the update to PSSR doesnt require patches for games it does it on its own once the new software patch is installed on the PS5 itself.

The upgrade will analyse the pixels and upscale them rather than needing any updates in games but will have the option to toggle it on and off in the PS5 settings.

Thats it. I’m getting a PS5 Pro!

@nomither6 these Hardware comments are so dumb all the time. Ps6 is than what a ps5 should have been in your opinion?
Not every game running in 4K/120 then and then it’s again a disappointing? Bro come on.

@Reeneman Guy is just a PCMR troll here to antagonize “console peasants.”

I am hoping it will provide a boost for Crimson Desert and 007 First Light.

Always confuses me the people who say i never see any difference in the footage. You wont... Its compressed. The point was youre gettung quality mode graphics at performance mode framerates (or better than in this case). That's how it was always advertised. Some people just want every bell and whistle. Ive loved being able to have RT on in some games whilst I'd have never done it on base PS5 simply because of being stuck at 30 fps

@ButterySmooth30FPS Yeah, that guy part of a master race. Last time I checked, every other PC game DF reviews the last few yrs all have frame gen probs, frame rate probs, lack of optimization, bugs, bugs and more bugs.

Then enter Valve, one of the master races darlings for decades, announcing steam machine back in NOV. "we'll give you the PC master race experience, underneath your TV like a console" Right? Wrong!!!! lmao

That hump of plastic is predicted to be between $800 - $1000 for 5yr old tech and no true AAA exclusives, only the bones Sony sent them on Steam, which they will be cutting off soon thanks to Xbox.

All that said, Master race my a**. PC been turning into a joke like Xbox lately. Will never sink like Xbox, but not worth the time or $$$$.

@StitchJones Exactly. Steam machine, whenever it finally does appear, is likely to be far more expensive than even a Pro, and won't get anywhere near it in performance terms, and yet it'll get a pass from PCMR because Valve.

@1970sGamer Exactly. Perfectly said. Its tech is said to be around a base ps5/xboxseries. By the time the thing drops, this gen will be close to 6yrs old already. Who TF enters a console race 6yrs late? Even if the hardware was on par with ps5pro, they still would have been way late to the party. Valve-clueless.

@Runex2121
Its not the best picture comparison, but the detail level is much higher in the 2nd - the easiest thing to see is that the hair strands are defined rather than just a bit of a smear.

My point was intended to be more generalised though. In part thanks to poor video/image reproduction (eg YouTube not direct Pro to TV), and the insistence of people to review on the comparatively tiny and often low res screens of their mobiles.

Sorry, so does this update require another patch on a game to game basis like the pro did before? Do games with the old pro patch need another patch?

@nomither6 Im sorry to say, but the base PS5 has better hardware than 60-70% of PC’s currently being used, based on Steam hardware survey. For the price point the PS5 is great. Its the first generation offering 60fps consistently. With PC parts on the rise, the PS5 Pro has its place on the market, especially with this new PSSR upscale technique.

Just started it on Pro, On a 65” QD-OLED with full Dolby Atmos sound system.
Lights out 😂

It is drop dead gorgeous and the sound amazing.

Gives me hope for a Pro 60FPS GTV 6 with the new PSSR update.

@Weebleman @DennisReynolds @ButterySmooth30FPS @Rich33
Just started it on Pro, On a 65” QD-OLED with full Dolby Atmos sound system.
Lights out 😂
It is drop dead gorgeous and the sound amazing.
Gives me hope for a Pro 60FPS GTV 6 with the new PSSR update.

They should change the system setting to something like:

PSSR Level:

• Latest
• Original
• Disabled

This way, we can completely disable PSSR is we want to. This also will give reviewers lots of options to compare.

@Reeneman I was being sarcastic because the article is focusing on the characters’ hair. I find it funny how Aloy’s hair moves sometimes in HFW.
Perhaps I should have ended with the the 😜 emoji instead of the 😅 emoji.

@Th3solution I got the joke but it doesn’t really fit here

@ChikaBambus The base PS5, just like some PC users that don't upgrade, are both on outdated tech. The base PS5 released outdated just like the PS4 did; when you reach for strawmans by bringing up the percentage of users that aren't upgrading vs the actual PC specs out there, it just makes your argument baseless and invalid. The PS4 still has a sizeable userbase, but what does the percentage of users have to do with specs? A mid-gen PC, in other words, the average modern pc today, is more powerful than the ps5 pro. a console will NEVER be more powerful than a contemporary PC, its not happening. I know pushsquarians love to believe their console is capable of being a PC or competing but its not, the purpose of a console is literally to compromise for affordability and conveniency.

also, the fact that you're lauding console finally getting 60fps in 2026 is very laughable. Theres a huge difference between 60 vs 120fps which is the new standard, 60fps is just overstaying its welcome.

@badbob001 disabling it wouldn’t make sense because devs using these upscalers in their games. It’s the same as you would demand for an FSR toggle in the base ps5 games.
It’s not that easy as you might think.

Would be good if it improves frame rates of older games.

@nomither6 you are probably one of these PC guys owning a lower end PC that’s below the base ps5 and spends his leisure time online to flex against consoles xD

@GhostOfSparta82K as already said, the upscaler has barely anything to do with framerates.

@OldGamer999 Same just upgraded recently to a 65 inch Tv. Also got an Atmos Soundsystem. Can’t wait for GTA.

Now I can see differences...

@badbob001 That's not how it works. A game using PSSR is coded into the game, the toggle just tells it which file to use when accessing pssr (the equivalent of changing the dll on pc), covering your first two options. That's fine.

Turning PSSR off completely through the dashboard would (probably) simply break games/compatibility.

@HRdepartment The toggle doesn't mean a game won't benefit from a patch, as a game can still be patched to work better with PSSR2 by taking better advantage. There may still be flaws on existing games or developer work arounds that aren't needed anymore.

However they don't need a patch to take advantage of PSSR2 if the toggle is on.

It's a clever solution and Sony must have plenty of faith in it not completely breaking every game, but the fallback is there just like Boost mode.

@Reeneman
Really makes a difference with the big tv and definitely the rear sound.
Some underestimate a good tv and also don’t think about sound, especially rear sound.
Adds so much to the game.
Was just playing RE9 and I thought someone had knocked on my front door 😂

@LowDefAl nice. Thank you for clarifying.

@Reeneman

Well, in the end it will help a lot by lower resolutions that is upscaled for 4K even better and because of lower resolution rendering process fps will be much steadier and probably higher even especially for demanding games.

@OldGamer999
Started it last night.
I've started it in the RT on / PSSR2 mode, and will likely stay unless I see fps drops later on.

I think this is an excellent showcase game to highlight just how good the Pro is - the image quality is well above most 3rd party games, it has RT, and very importantly it is sticking very well to 60fps (at least at present).

Comparing the PS5 / Pro versions, the Pro is a massive leap ahead - I personally think the base PS5 version looks a bit rough.

@nomither6 "its still dated hardware compared to most PCs specs these days". I literally gave you an example where base PS5 is better than majority of PC rigs out there and the survey was done on the most reputable PC platform out there: Steam. 90% of the games that released this gen on console offer acceptable and even fantastic image quality and good performance as well. News flash, most gamers don't want to spend 2-3K on a rig so your argument makes literally no sense at all. Couple that in with usual PC issues like Windows 11 being hot garbage and hogging resources, games launching with major shader compilation issues and being generally less optimized most of the times with driver issues in the mix as well, the incentive to buy console isn't only for the on paper spec and performance, it's also everything that I mentioned and ease of use as well. Also, go and try to build a PC that will offer equal performance and not cost 700$ and come back to me.

@Rich33
Yep same as me 60FPS RT on but I always turn off in every game motion blurr, I hate motion blurr.

@OldGamer999
Its a pity you can't turn off depth of field too - such a stupid effect when your eyes don't work like that - they refocus as you look around.

@BaldB3lper78 There's no way you can't see the difference in the two pictures that are posted above. You have to be just saying that to say it otherwise, as even on a 16 inch laptop screen I can see the difference and it's night and day in the hair. The left shot is somewhat clumpy and you can see practically every strand of hair on the right.

"I literally gave you an example where base PS5 is better than majority of PC rigs out there"

• Comparing a 2020 console to specs that came out almost a decade or so ago is not a good example at all and is just a strawman argument. You're comparing old specs of yester-year to the old specs of something TODAY. Those old specs at one point in time didn't release outdated, the PS5 did.

"and the survey was done on the most reputable PC platform"

• You're still missing my point entirely; the survey has absolutely nothing to do with this. What people are choosing to stay with has nothing to do with the other specs themselves existing. Someone sticking to a GPU from late 2010's does not mean PC just stopped advancing. Like I said, a contemporary average pc that's not even a high end, just simply a mid gen, will outperform the base and pro.

"news flash, most gamers don't want to spend 2-3K on a rig"

• Ok? No one likes to spend a bunch of money.

" so your argument makes literally no sense at all"

• They're as clear as day to understand. Your arguments aren't even addressing my rebuttals. Your arguments are just about statistics of people, and hypothetical reasons for why some people don't want to play on a PC.

"Couple that in with usual PC issues like Windows 11 being hot garbage"

• So, I take it that you've gamed on a modern PC running windows 11 within the past 5 years enough to say this? Or is this just some self-deception statement for comfort?

"and hogging resources"

• Not true at all. PC isn't centralized and locked like console is. Theres a multitude of hardware and brands, and several other software and even storefronts. A bad built or outdated PC, or a poor storefront, doesn't speak for all.

" the incentive to buy console isn't only for the on paper spec and performance, it's also everything that I mentioned and ease of use as well."

The incentive that you just take it out of the box and play it? Ok, i guess. theres not much else to console.

"Also, go and try to build a PC that will offer equal performance and not cost 700$ and come back to me."

• Its much more valuable than being ripped off for an overclocked, outdated console. The pro is a rip off. The reason you won't find a PC that cheap to compete vs a console is because the PS5 Pro specs are outdated man. whats worth $700 to a PC is much less than what its worth for a console. If the Pro was targeting just the mid-range level of PCs - which is the AVERAGE, it would be much more expensive.

I’ve had to do a lot of work and errands today but I did start Requiem on my Pro and it’s an astonishingly beautiful game despite it having a lot of ugly monsters in it. Looking forward to seeing how PSSR 2.0 boosts other games when the system update hits.