A recent leak claims the rumored successor to the PS5 console, the upgraded PS5 Pro, will release later this year, presumably in time for the holiday season. If this proves true and Rockstar's GTA 6 hits its targeted launch window of early 2025, that would crown Sony as the de facto best console to play one of the most highly anticipated games of a generation.
Granted, that's a lot of "ifs" that have to go right. But given that GTA 5 broke all-time sales records when it came out back in 2013, it cannot be understated how huge an opportunity this could be for Sony. Especially since, unlike with many modern releases, Rockstar doesn't plan to launch GTA 6 on PC and consoles simultaneously. Instead, the developer plans to release an "upgraded version" of the game on PC at some point after its initial launch date.
Previously Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has dismissed the idea of a mid-cycle refresh for either the Xbox Series X or Series S. He doesn’t "feel an imperative” to release another Xbox console this generation, he told Bloomberg last summer. “That’s not the feedback we’re getting right now. Right now, we’re pretty set on the hardware we have.”
That could give Sony a serious leg up if it moves forward with the PS5 Pro in time for GTA 6's release. According to a video this week from YouTuber Moore’s Law is Dead, the PS5 Pro could house 67 teraflops of compute power — a mightily impressive APU-boosting figure that seems to be made possible by machine-learning. That could end up equating to a "mere" 33.5 Tflops of “Floating Point” performance; by comparison, the base PS5 manages just a third of that at 10.28 Tflops. If these specs shake out to be true, that’s a colossal technical leap that could help the PS5 Pro rival the graphical power of some of the best gaming PCs.
Given Sony’s estimated 2:1 market position over Xbox, the PS5 was already posed to be the main platform players chose to experience Rockstar's hugely-anticipated open-world crime game. But being able to play GTA 6 on the upgraded PS5 Pro could give them even more of a reason to opt for Sony's console instead of Xbox. The PS5 Pro needs a compelling sales pitch to justify its existence, especially given that the cheaper Xbox Series S continues to outsell the Xbox Series X, and this could be it.
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