Since the beginning of 2024, insiders have been increasingly discussing new consoles. Apparently, in the next 12 months we will see new revisions of at least several consoles. In this article, you will find the key rumors and facts about the more powerful PlayStation, Xbox, Switch and Deck.
PlayStation
The first plausible rumors of an improved PS5 appeared in early 2023, when a patent was found online to improve ray tracing technology in games. A year later, verified insiders shared new information | PS5 Pro is indeed in development, and it is planned to be released in the second half of 2024.
One of the main features of the device will be support for PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution, an image upscaling technology based on artificial intelligence. It is reported that this is a proprietary development of Sony, which will noticeably surpass AMD FSR 3 in terms of picture quality. PSSR will allow you to increase the resolution to 8K, and it will take only 2ms to upscale from 1080p to 4K. Other new features in the PS5 Pro include an increase in RAM from 12.5 GB to 13.7 GB and the use of RDNA architecture solutions unique to the PS5 (such as VRS dynamic shading).
Insider Moore’s Law is Dead claims that the chip of the new console will allegedly be produced using a new, 4nm process (the regular version has 7nm). This will reduce the power consumption of the console and its size.
Experts from Digital Foundry believe that the difference between the PS5 and PS5 Pro will not be as noticeable as between the PS4 and PS4 Pro. The clock speed of the processor will not change much | it will increase from 3.5 to 3.8 GHz. Therefore, in games that depend on CPU capabilities (such as Dragon’s Dogma 2), the difference will not be too noticeable.
As for the importance of the new console for the industry, it is allegedly not very clear to game creators yet. The head of GamesIndustry, Christopher Dring, said that none of the developers he knew supported the release of the PS5 Pro, because most studios are satisfied with the usual PS5. According to him, no one understands why an improved version is released if even the capabilities of the original console are not yet used. In addition, teams will now need to optimize new products for two PlayStations at once.
Insider Tom Henderson said that Sony will mark games that developers will update to the power of the PlayStation 5 Pro. To get the marking, you need to add a special graphics mode. Its key features are upscaling to 4K resolution with PSSR, stable 60 FPS, and improved ray tracing effects.
There is a chance that the console will be announced in the summer, and at the same time they will present exclusives for it, which are all very much looking forward. At the time of writing this article (April 2024), it is still unclear what the second half of the PS5’s life cycle will be. It is known that Insomniac Games is making a game about Wolverine, and Kojima Productions will release Death Stranding 2 in 2025. But what the company’s internal studios – Guerrilla Games, Bluepoint Games, Naughty Dog, Santa Monica Studio and Sucker Punch Productions – are doing is a mystery.
Xbox
So far, it is known for sure that Microsoft is working on the Xbox Series X in a new color scheme. At the end of March, eXputer shared photos of the console with a white body. The main difference from the old X is the absence of a floppy drive. In addition, the console will get an improved heatsink and an updated Nexus board that controls the power button and indicator. Otherwise, the iron will remain exactly the same as that of its predecessor. Due to the lack of a floppy drive, the set-top box will cost a little cheaper | $50-$100.
But Microsoft is also working on new consoles. Due to the litigation between the company and the Federal Trade Commission, it became known about the improved versions of the Xbox Series, the technical characteristics of which were not disclosed. Judging by the image from the document, the new Xbox may change the design and will look like a large speaker. The company also plans to release a new gamepad with haptic feedback, like the DualSense.
Microsoft’s full-fledged next-generation Xbox, in turn, should be a hybrid of powerful hardware and cloud technologies. The company believes that this approach will allow you to achieve a new level of performance, but the release of the next-generation console is not planned for the near future | 2027-2028.
Xbox CEO Phil Spencer made it clear at the end of March that Microsoft wasn’t very interested in creating exclusives. There have even been rumors that the company will cut production of consoles that sell worse than the competition. But so far, there have been no such loud announcements, moreover, Spencer claims the opposite | the company is thinking about creating gaming hardware that will be bought because of its “unique features.”
Analysts believe that the head of Xbox hints at a portable console that will compete with analogues from other companies. Switch and Steam Deck have already proven the popularity of the format, with the latter being able to run very demanding games. Even Sony has already reported on the “wild popularity” of the PlayStation Portal, a tablet that only allows you to stream games from the PS5. Perhaps new technologies will greatly simplify the creation of a portable Xbox and will allow you to make a really powerful device on which you can play any modern novelty.
Nintendo
Rumors about the Japanese company’s new set-top box have been circulating for a very long time | at least since 2020. Various insiders and media reported that the console would go on sale in 2021 and get more powerful hardware, because even then the Switch could hardly cope with modern games. A few years have passed, but we still haven’t seen the Switch 2, as it is popularly nicknamed.
For several years now, Nintendo’s next console has been actively discussed on the network, and the announcement is promised every six months. As soon as the company lurks with the news, everyone immediately begins to prepare for the release of Switch 2. However, even the information of verified insiders has so far turned out to be incorrect.
According to the latest rumors, the new portable console was planned to be presented in the spring of 2024, but at the last moment the announcement was postponed at least to the second half of the year. Some claim that Nintendo is even considering the option of launching in early 2025.
At the same time, at the end of March, the company fired contractors responsible for testing and devices. The wave of layoffs has reportedly been “noticeable,” so there has been speculation that Nintendo has begun preparations to announce the next console. The alternative view is simply a wave of layoffs that has affected the entire gaming industry.
One of the insiders reported that the set-top box will be sold in two versions – regular and “digital”, in which it will not be possible to use cartridges. The device can also be used in handheld mode or connected to a TV, like the Nintendo Switch, but you shouldn’t wait for an OLED screen at the start. Allegedly, it will be left for the next revision, and at first they will be limited to an LCD display.
The announcement is also awaited because Nintendo likes to experiment with its devices and rarely releases new hardware in the old form factor. There’s a chance that the next console will be different from the original Switch, but exactly how is still a mystery.
Steam Deck
At the end of 2023, Valve released a new version of the Steam Deck – with an OLED screen, smaller bezels, an updated 6nm processor and a larger SSD. Formally, this revision is not much different from the first one, but the performance has still increased slightly, and the batteries have become enough for longer. After that, there were rumors that another set-top box would soon be released – also with an OLED display, but noticeably more powerful.
Valve almost immediately denied this information. The company admitted that they are already thinking about the next version of the Steam Deck, but a full-fledged “second” revision will be released in at least 2-3 years, that is, no earlier than 2025-2026. Product designer Lawrence Young said the next iteration should be “noticeably more performant,” but the company doesn’t yet have all the necessary technology. So in the foreseeable future, you can safely take the Steam Deck and not be afraid that it will quickly cease to be relevant.
