One year ago this week, Sony launched one of its most expensive video game consoles ever: the PlayStation 5 Pro. The company promised improved performance and visuals over the standard PS5 as well as DLSS-like upscaling. And while some games definitely benefit from the power, I’ve mostly forgotten I even own a PS5 Pro.
When Sony announced the PlayStation 5 Pro last year, it received a mixed reception. While some were excited to have a more powerful console that could run games at higher framerates, many weren’t convinced it was necessary. And then Sony showed everyone the $700 price tag, and it became even harder to justify the new console. But despite all that, I was still excited to get a PS5 Pro. I have a big ol’ 4K TV and I care about framerates and all the minutiae that impacts how a game looks. And over the last year, I’ve enjoyed some great games on my PS5 Pro. Battlefield 6, for example, looks and runs wonderfully on Sony’s beefier machine. Likewise, Death Stranding 2 looks incredibly sharp on PS5 Pro while still running flawlessly.
Yet, many other games I play on my PS5 Pro either don’t look or feel noticeably better, or feature no improvements at all. It doesn’t help that the PlayStation Store still lacks detailed information about what PS5 Pro enhancements are included in a given game. Sometimes I have to go digging around online to find a blog or Reddit post to determine what, if anything, has changed because I’m playing a game on PS5 Pro. That’s not a great experience for a console that now costs $750.
I can confirm that after a year of use, the PS5 Pro hasn’t given me any troubles. It runs quietly, still feels snappy to use, and hasn’t broken in some other way. In comparison, my base PS5’s USB-C port stopped working after just a few weeks. So at the very least, the PS5 Pro seems well-built and sturdy, which is nice, I guess. But is all of that worth $750?
Should you buy a PS5 Pro in 2025?
After using the PS5 Pro for a year, I find it hard to recommend. While I do think there are some people out there who will get some benefit from owning a PS5 Pro–mainly folks with 4KTVs who really care about performance–most people don’t need Sony’s more powerful console. Heck, I’m a bit of a graphics snob who loves running games at 120FPS, and I often forget the PS5 Pro is sitting in front of me because games so rarely feel like they’re benefiting from its enhanced specs.
The lack of third-party support is disappointing, too. It’s surprising how many games are still launching on the PS5 via the PlayStation Store without any PS5 Pro benefits. You’d think at this point, Sony would be pushing devs and publishers to support the pricey console more. But it doesn’t feel like that is the case, which I find very strange, and that makes it even harder to recommend plopping down the cash for this thing.
At this point, I’d suggest sticking to your PS5 (if you have one) and just enjoying it for a few more years and buying a PlayStation 6 instead when that console finally launches in the next few years, likely at a similar price.
