You’d think the global chip shortage and the fact that it’s been barely more than a year since PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X came out would, at the very least, delay the prospects of a mid-gen upgrade. Alas, according to Chinese electronics manufacturer TCL, the gaming juggernauts Microsoft and Sony are looking at 2023 and 2024 as possible release windows for PlayStation 5 Pro, and whatever weird name Xbox comes up with for the improved Series X.
TCL Technology, best known for their LED televisions, recently held a press conference and thought it incredibly shrewd to just let slip that PS5 Pro and an upgraded Xbox Series X are indeed in the works, to be released at some point in 2023 or 2024.
This report has managed to raise a few eyebrows, even though TCL is a reliable tech manufacturer. For one thing, how would they know about Sony or Microsoft’s plans? And for another, why just announce it nonchalantly for the world to see?
That’s not to say there won’t be a PlayStation 5 Pro. We’ve heard whispers of a hardware upgrade as early as mid-2021, and given the successful launch of both PS4 Pro and Xbox One X, it’d be fairly reasonable to assume that the respective companies have plans to do the same in the ongoing ninth generation.
If anything, the base PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X are already failing to meet their marketing jargon of hitting 4K resolution with ray-traced shadows at high frame rates. Perhaps a revision for both consoles that pushes the teraflops envelope even further could finally achieve native 4K resolution at 60fps with ray tracing enabled, though even that will vary from developer to developer and what they can achieve with these newer consoles.
At any rate, we’d take this with a pinch of salt for the time being, but if you’re hesitant about buying a new console due to this very reason, it might be prudent to wait a little while longer.