After years of frenzied rumours, Sony is finally about to launch the PS5 Pro, a high-spec gaming behemoth that’s set to blow every games console out of the water. Pre-orders for the console went live exclusively at PlayStation Direct on 26 September. While there were initially Oasis levels of mayhem, the console is readily available to pre-order in the UK from a whole host of retailers.
As well as the regular PS5 Pro, Sony launched a limited edition 30th anniversary version of the console, complete with several accessories and merch. Kitted out in the legendary greyscale colourway of the OG PlayStation 1, it sold out within minutes, with scalpers seen listing it on eBay for 10 times the price.
The gaming giant also dropped a new PS5 Slim and PlayStation Portal in the same grey colour palette, as well as throwback versions of the DualSense Edge and DualSense wireless controllers. Sony announced that it will be restocking the PS5 Slim 30th anniversary edition bundle on 29 October at 9am PDT (4pm GMT). A restock is not expected to take place in the UK, however.
The PS5 Pro console in the grey colourway is unlikely to come back in stock, however, as Sony only manufactured 12,300 worldwide, all with unique numbers etched onto the side. If you want the regular PS5 Pro, without the throwback redesign, it’s currently in stock and ready to pre-order from several third-party retailers in the UK. Launching on 7 November, here’s how to pre-order a PS5 Pro right now.
Where to pre-order the PS5 Pro in the UK
Sony opened up pre-orders for the PS5 Pro and PS5 Pro 30th anniversary edition on Thursday 26 September at 10am in the UK. It was first available to pre-order exclusively from PlayStation Direct, but it went live at third-party retailers on 10 October 2024. The PS5 Pro 30th anniversary edition bundle (£959.99, Playstation.com), however, has remained a PlayStation Direct exclusive, and it hasn’t restocked since it sold out on launch day. The regular PS5 Pro (£699.99, Playstation.com) is readily available, and there’s currently a £5 saving if you pre-order from EE.
The PS5 Pro will officially launch in-stores and begin shipping out on 7 November. Anyone who was lucky enough to secure a PS5 Pro 30th anniversary edition bundle will receive their console on 21 November.
Pre-order the PS5 Pro now
Where to pre-order the PlayStation 30th anniversary collection in the UK
To celebrate PlayStation’s 30th anniversary, Sony has launched a series of consoles and accessories with the legacy grey colour palette. They all feature the classic multi-coloured PlayStation logo. The hero product was the PS5 Pro 30th anniversary edition bundle, but it’s unlikely to be restocked.
Costing £959.99, the entire bundle included a throwback PS5 Pro with a 2TB SSD, grey DualSense controller, DualSense Edge controller, DualSense charging station, vertical stand and a console cover for the disc drive (which is sold separately). It also came with an original PlayStation controller-style cable connector housing, four PlayStation-shaped cable ties, a PlayStation sticker, a limited-edition PlayStation poster (with one of 30 possible designs and a PlayStation paperclip. The bundle sold out within minutes, and is now being re-sold on eBay for as much as £10,000.
Where to pre-order the PS5 Slim 30th anniversary edition bundle in the UK
Sony also launched a PS5 Slim 30th anniversary edition console bundle (£433.99, Playstation.com) in the OG colours. The PS5 Slim digital edition with 1TB of storage came with a grey DualSense controller, vertical stand and a cover for a disc drive (sold separately), plus the same merchandise that you got with the PS5 Pro bundle.
It released at third-party retailers on 10 October and bundles were snapped up within minutes. Again, it’s unlikely to ever be restocked. We’ve even seen reports of some orders being cancelled by the likes of Argos and Amazon. The latter has now removed its product listing page, alongside Currys and Game.
Where to buy PS5 30th anniversary edition accessories in the UK
In terms of accessories, Sony released an anniversary edition PlayStation Portal (£209.99, Playstation.com), as well as a grey DualSense Edge controller (£219.99, Playstation.com) and a grey regular DualSense controller (£69.99, Playstation.com). While we haven’t seen the PlayStation Portal or the DualSense Edge restock, the grey DualSense controller has been coming back in and out of stock periodically at PlayStation Direct and other third-party retailers.
PS5 Pro specs, features and design
The PS5 Pro looks like a mix between the original PS5 and the PS5 Slim. Sony says that it’s the same height as the original console, while the width is the same size as the PS5 Slim. The visual distinction is that the PS5 Pro boasts wide grills across the middle.
While the console doesn’t come with a disc drive, you can add the Blu-Ray disc drive (£99.99, Currys.co.uk) for an added price, bringing the cost up to £800. The PS5 Pro itself comes with a 2TB internal SSD – that’s double the storage of the PS5 Slim, one DualSense wireless controller and a copy of Astro’s Playroom.
The PS5 Pro is pure raw unfettered power, making it a big step up from the original PS5. Boasting a larger GPU, Sony says that the console’s rendering power has been boosted by 45 per cent, enhancing game fidelity at high frame rates to make it run buttery smooth. The GPU has 67 per cent more Compute Units than the current PS5 console and 28 per cent faster memory.
Ray tracing has also been improved. The PS5 Pro provides more dynamic reflection and refraction of light. Sony has shown this difference by using clips of Gran Turismo 7 and Hogwarts Legacy. You can see reflections between cars at 60fps, and there are better reflections and casting of shadows in Hogwarts Legacy. Sony says that the system allows rays to be cast at double and sometimes triple the speed of the PS5 Slim.
Lastly, Sony brought on AI-driven upscaling in the form of, what it calls, PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution, which uses machine learning-based technology to provide greater image clarity to games and increased detail.
One new feature is something called PS5 Pro Game Boost, which will stabilise and improve the performance of 8,500 backward compatible PS4 games that are playable on the PS5. An Enhanced Image Quality feature will also increase the resolution of PS4 games. The PS5 Pro also gains a WiFi 7 chip, an improvement over the Wifi 6 chip found on the original PS5.
Best PS5 deals
PlayStation 5 Slim digital edition console: Was £389.99, now £334, Amazon.co.uk
If the PS5 Pro is too expensive for you, then you’ll want to take a look at this deal on the PS5 Slim. With an £85 saving on the console, this is the lowest price we’ve ever seen on the machine. The new PS5 Slim has the same specs as the OG PS5, but with a design refresh. It weighs less, has a slimmer profile, and comes with 1TB of internal storage instead of the random 825GB found on the previous model. There are four panels on the side instead of two, a glossy upper half and a matte bottom half. There are two USB-C ports instead of one USB-A and one USB-C port on the front, and you also get a horizontal stand when you buy the PS5 Slim, letting you lie it down on its side. Like the PS5 Pro, it doesn’t come with a detachable disc drive, but you can add one on at a later date.
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