PS5 Pro ‘Ultra-Boost’ Mode Will Make Most Games Run Smoother

Information about Sony’s upcoming PS5 Pro codenamed Trinity is continuing to trickle out. Although nothing we’ve learned so far about the device makes it sound like a must-have upgrade, details corroborated by The Verge point toward several enhancements that games running on a PS5 Pro will have. Some of these improvements will require a patch, while others, like a new “ultra-boost” mode, can increase frame rate and resolution even without developers releasing official updates.

First revealed in a l report by Insider Gaming, a corroborating report by The Verge dives into what players can expect from games that earn an “enhanced” for PS5 Pro label on their packaging. So what will it mean exactly when you go on the PlayStation Store or walk into a Target this holiday season (when the new hardware presumably launches) and see PS5 Pro stickers on games? According to documents reviewed by The Verge and Insider Gaming, “enhanced” for PS5 Pro can mean:

• A game has a completely new PS5 Pro graphics mode that supports PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR) 4K upscaling and ray-tracing at 60fps
• A game has a higher fixed resolution cap at 30fps (e.g. 2160p up from 1440p)
• A game has a higher maximum target resolution (e.g. between 1280p and 2160p, up from 1080p and 1440p)
• A game adds ray-tracing support

If that sounds a little too technical, basically it means that there’s no one definition for the “enhanced” for PS5 Pro label. It could be a whole new graphical experience or just a game occasionally hitting 2160p. The end result is you might have to research each game’s version of the upgrade to know what you’re actually getting when you pay for a PS5 Pro. It’s worth noting that one thing that won’t count towards getting an “enhanced” label is just improving average resolution without changing the maximum that’s being targeted.

Sony is also apparently telling developers that even if they don’t patch in any of these features to earn the new label, they still might see overall improvements to how their games run on PS5 Pro thanks to the “ultra-boost” mode. This will seemingly help games with variable frame rates and resolutions look crisper and refresh more often. Frame rates could also be more stable as well, so no massive drops in Dragon’s Dogma 2’s cities for instance. Even there, however, Sony’s internal documents apparently note that unpatched games with fixed resolutions and frame rates won’t show any improvements even with “ultra-boost.”

It certainly sounds like the PS5 Pro is shaping up to be a nice but not necessary upgrade, and that its biggest promises will be dependent upon whether or not developers invest the resources to take advantage of them. If the Xbox One X and PS4 Pro are anything to go off of, it could be months or even years before some of your favorite games are able to take full advantage of the PS5 Pro enhancements.

Sony didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.