PS5 vs PS5 Pro for GTA 6: UK Price, Performance, Disc Drive and Whether the Pro Is Worth It
The PS5 Pro has a much bigger graphics chip than the PS5, but almost the same processor. It costs £789.99 in the UK, £220 more than the PS5 with a disc drive, and on 8 October it was sold out on Sony’s own UK store. For GTA 6 on 19 November, the Pro should look sharper, but both consoles are expected to run it at 30 frames per second. If you already own a PS5, you do not need a Pro to play GTA 6 well.
Jump to your question:
- What is the real difference?Graphics, not the processor. Side by side
- How much more is the Pro?£220, or £290 with a disc drive. UK prices
- Is GTA 6 better on the Pro?Sharper, probably not smoother. What is confirmed
- Will it be 60fps on Pro?Unlikely at launch. The evidence
- Where can I buy one?Sony was sold out on 8 October. Stock and prices
- Should I upgrade?Depends on your TV. Who should
Hardvance sells PC parts and laptops, not consoles, so nothing here is for sale on our site. UK prices and stock come from Sony’s own PlayStation Direct store, the GTA 6 details from Sony, Rockstar’s store listing and Digital Foundry, all read on 8 October 2026.
- PS5 Slim vs PS5 Pro: what is actually different
- PS5 Pro price in the UK: £789.99, or £859.98 with a disc drive
- PS5 Pro vs PS5 performance: PSSR, and the new QSSR for the base PS5
- GTA 6 on PS5 vs PS5 Pro: what Sony and Rockstar have confirmed
- Will GTA 6 be 60fps on PS5 Pro?
- PS5 Pro stock: sold out at Sony on 8 October, $1,399 used at GameStop
- PS5 Pro disc drive: do you still need one for GTA 6?
- PS5 Pro vs Xbox Series X for GTA 6
- Is the PS5 Pro worth it? Who should upgrade from a PS5
- Quick answers
PS5 Slim vs PS5 Pro: what is actually different
The PS5 Pro is a PS5 with a far bigger graphics chip and a faster upscaler. The processor is the same eight-core chip, only slightly faster. So the Pro makes games look sharper and run smoother when the graphics card is the limit, but it does little when the processor is the limit. Today’s PS5 is the Slim model, so “PS5 vs PS5 Pro” and “PS5 Slim vs PS5 Pro” are the same question.
| PS5 (Slim) | PS5 Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| UK price (Sony) | £519.99 digital, £569.99 with disc drive | £789.99, digital only |
| Graphics | 36 compute units, up to 2.23GHz | 60 compute units, up to 2.35GHz (67% more units) |
| Processor | 8-core Zen 2, up to 3.5GHz | Same chip, up to 3.85GHz (10% faster) |
| Memory | 16GB GDDR6 | 16GB GDDR6, plus 2GB DDR5 for the system |
| AI upscaling | QSSR, in supported games from October 2026 | PSSR, in supported games |
| Storage | 825GB digital, 1TB disc | 2TB |
| Disc drive | Built in, or £69.99 add-on for the digital model | £69.99 add-on |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 6 | Wi-Fi 7 |
| Weight | 3.2kg disc, 2.6kg digital | 3.1kg |
Three rows matter most for you:
- Graphics: 67% more compute units. That is where the Pro’s extra power sits. It pays off in sharper images, better ray tracing and higher frame rates in games that were held back by the graphics chip.
- Processor: only 10% faster. Games that are held back by the processor, like huge open worlds full of people and traffic, gain very little. Keep that in mind for GTA 6.
- Storage: 2TB. Double the disc model. Big games fill a 1TB PS5 quickly, though you can add an M.2 SSD of up to 8TB to either console. Our gaming SSD guide explains which drives are fast enough.
Both consoles play every PS5 game and nearly every PS4 game. Sony says the Pro plays over 8,500 PS4 games, some of them faster through its Game Boost feature.
PS5 Pro price in the UK: £789.99, or £859.98 with a disc drive
The PS5 Pro price on Sony’s UK store is £789.99. The PS5 with a disc drive is £569.99 and the Digital Edition is £519.99. So the Pro costs £220 more than the disc PS5, and £270 more than the digital one. Add Sony’s £69.99 disc drive and the Pro comes to £859.98.
Sony raised all three PS5 prices on 2 April 2026. The PS5 Pro went from its £699.99 launch price in November 2024 to £789.99, a £90 increase, and Sony blamed “continued pressures in the global economic landscape”. In practice that means memory. Microsoft and Nintendo raised console prices this year too, as RAM and storage costs climbed, which we covered in our console price increase guide.
A few extras change the real cost:
- Disc drive, £69.99. The Pro has none built in. Sony’s store limits it to one per order.
- Vertical stand, £24.99. Sold separately for the Pro and for the Slim.
- Certified refurbished PS5s sell on Sony’s own store from £429.99 for the digital Slim and £479.99 for the disc Slim. No refurbished Pro was listed.
In the US the PS5 Pro is $899.99, up from $699.99 at launch. If you are comparing with American prices, the UK figure includes 20% VAT and the US one does not include sales tax.
PS5 Pro vs PS5 performance: PSSR, and the new QSSR for the base PS5
The Pro’s biggest advantage has been PSSR, Sony’s AI upscaler, which turns a lower-resolution image into a sharp 4K one. On 1 October Sony brought a lighter version, called QSSR, to the base PS5. That narrows the gap, but only in games that add it.
In games with a PS5 Pro update, the usual pattern is this: what the PS5 gave you as a choice, the Pro gives you at once. Sony’s own Pro page quotes developers on it. Insomniac’s Spider-Man and Ratchet & Clank gain a Performance Pro mode with Fidelity mode’s 4K and ray tracing at 60 frames per second. Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us remasters render at 1440p and upscale to 4K with PSSR while holding 60fps. Gran Turismo 7 adds ray tracing during races, which the PS5 could not do.
Now the base PS5 is catching up a little. Sony’s PlayStation Blog announced QSSR, short for Quick Spectral Super Resolution, on 1 October. It is a trimmed-down version of PSSR built to run on the PS5’s smaller graphics chip. Marvel’s Wolverine and Ghost of Yōtei got it as a patch the same day, and Sony says it will offer QSSR to all PlayStation developers. Sony itself still calls PSSR “the gold standard on PS5 Pro”.
Digital Foundry spent about six hours with QSSR before launch. It found temporal stability “substantially improved” and called the potential “remarkable”, especially in Wolverine. That matters for you because blurry, shimmering upscaling has been the PS5’s weak spot all generation, and it was one of the main reasons to buy a Pro.
The catch: QSSR only works in games that build it in, and Sony has named two games so far. Whether GTA 6 will use it is not known.
GTA 6 on PS5 vs PS5 Pro: what Sony and Rockstar have confirmed
GTA 6 is listed as “PS5 Pro Enhanced” on the UK PlayStation Store, so the Pro will get something extra. Neither Sony nor Rockstar has said what. Everything about how GTA 6 looks on PS5 so far comes from footage captured on a base PS5.
| What we know about GTA 6 on PS5 Pro | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Out on 19 November on PS5, PS5 Pro and Xbox Series X|S | Confirmed | Sony, Rockstar |
| Tagged “PS5 Pro Enhanced” on the UK PlayStation Store | Confirmed | PlayStation Store |
| What the Pro enhancement actually does | Not announced | Sony, Rockstar |
| The gameplay reveal ran on a base PS5 at about 1440p and 30fps | Measured | Digital Foundry |
| 30fps target on all consoles | Reported | Digital Foundry |
| A 60fps mode on Pro | Unlikely at launch | Digital Foundry |
| QSSR upscaling for GTA 6 on the base PS5 | Not announced | Sony |
What the base PS5 already does. Rockstar’s 27-minute Extended Look in August was captured on a standard PS5. Digital Foundry’s Oliver Mackenzie called it the most impressive example of real-time game rendering he had seen. It found ray-traced reflections and lighting running on the base console, at a steady 30 frames per second.
Where the Pro should help. Digital Foundry also found the PS5 version renders at about 1440p and stretches that to 4K with a simple upscale, which leaves the image soft with visible shimmer on fine detail. That is exactly what PSSR on the Pro is built to fix. Digital Foundry expects GTA 6 to “look a little better on PS5 Pro”, with better ray tracing and image quality, but says nobody can know how much until Sony or Rockstar show Pro footage.
What Sony has marketed. Sony and Rockstar’s June announcement that GTA 6 “plays best on PS5” talks about the DualSense controller’s haptics, 3D audio and fast loading from the SSD. It does not mention the Pro at all. All of those features work the same on both consoles.
If you are planning to play on a PC instead, GTA 6 is not coming to PC at launch. Our GTA 6 PC guide covers when it might, and our GTA 6 pre-order guide covers the editions.
Will GTA 6 be 60fps on PS5 Pro?
Probably not at launch. Neither Sony nor Rockstar has announced a 60fps mode on any console. Digital Foundry judges 60fps “extremely unlikely on console hardware”, because GTA 6 leans hard on the processor, and the Pro’s processor is only 10% faster than the PS5’s.
Frame rate in a game this busy depends on the processor as much as the graphics chip. Every car, pedestrian and police unit has to be simulated 30 times a second. To double the frame rate, the console has to do the same work in half the time, which needs roughly twice the processing speed. Digital Foundry’s analysis says there is “no way to regain enough GPU and particularly CPU time” for 60fps “without compromising the world”. The Pro adds 67% more graphics compute units and 10% more processor speed. That helps the picture, not the simulation.
Rockstar’s history points the same way. GTA V launched at 30fps in 2013 and only got a 60fps mode with the PS5 and Xbox Series release years later. Red Dead Redemption 2 still has no official 60fps console mode.
There are two caveats. Digital Foundry reports that, according to people who spoke to Rockstar, higher frame rate modes “will be considered for post-launch updates”. And a remark by Rockstar North’s Rob Nelson that GTA 6 runs at 30fps “for now” reached the press second-hand, through a translated interview, so treat it as reported rather than official. A leaker’s claim of a 60fps Pro mode has not been backed by Sony or Rockstar.
On the forums, players are split, but less upset than you might expect. In a ResetEra thread about the 30fps news, the most common view was that a stable 30 is fine for a game this detailed, and a couple of posters pointed to the processor as the reason the Pro will not change it.
PS5 Pro stock: sold out at Sony on 8 October, $1,399 used at GameStop
On 8 October the PS5 Pro was sold out on Sony’s UK PlayStation Direct store, and it has been hard to find since Rockstar’s GTA 6 reveal in August. The standard PS5 and the Digital Edition are still available there. In the US, GameStop has priced used PS5 Pros at $1,399.99, $500 above Sony’s price for a new one.
Here is what we found on 8 October, plus what others have reported this week:
- PlayStation Direct UK: both PS5 Pro listings marked out of stock. The PS5, PS5 Digital Edition, disc drive and vertical stand were all available to order.
- Other UK shops: Radio Times found the Pro available at Currys and Very on 7 October, and sold out at Smyths and EE. This changes daily.
- GameStop, US: used PS5 Pros at $1,399.99, with special editions at $1,499.99, according to VGC. A leaked internal note said the higher used price was “intentional”. ExtremeTech reports trade-in offers of $800 to $850.
- Japan: Sony is running a lottery for the Pro, open only to players with 60 hours of play on their account between September 2024 and September 2026, as reported by Radio Times and ExtremeTech.
Why the shortage? Part of it is GTA 6 demand. Part of it is memory: the same RAM shortage that pushed prices up also limits how many consoles get built. A senior games buyer told The Game Business, as reported by VGC, that retailers will not get the stock they want before GTA 6. On ResetEra, the GameStop news drew more anger than surprise, with one poster asking whether scalping was now GameStop’s business model.
Our advice: do not pay over Sony’s £789.99 for a Pro just for GTA 6. The base PS5 runs the same game at the same expected frame rate, and you can buy one at its normal price today.
PS5 Pro disc drive: do you still need one for GTA 6?
Not for GTA 6. Rockstar’s physical edition comes in a box with a download code, not a disc. The PS5 Pro has no built-in drive, and Sony’s add-on costs £69.99. You only need one for older disc games, Blu-ray films, or a disc collection you already own.
The BBC reported in June that the GTA 6 physical edition contains only a code for a digital download. Retailers say the code is single-use, so you cannot lend or resell it once it is redeemed. Rockstar had not explained why when the BBC asked.
Sony is moving the same way. Its UK PS5 page now carries a notice that from January 2028, newly released PlayStation games will be sold “in digital format only”, while discs for games released before then will keep working. That makes the disc drive a smaller part of the decision every year.
When you would still want the drive:
- You own PS4 or PS5 games on disc and want to keep playing them.
- You watch 4K Blu-ray films. The drive plays 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray and DVD.
- You buy second-hand disc games, which is often the cheapest way to play older titles.
The drive needs an internet connection the first time you pair it with the console. One Sony drive works on both the PS5 Digital Edition and the Pro.
PS5 Pro vs Xbox Series X for GTA 6
The Xbox Series X costs £669.99 on Microsoft’s UK store, £120 less than the PS5 Pro, and it gets GTA 6 on the same day. Expect it to perform like the base PS5, not the Pro.
The Series X and the base PS5 have similar specifications, and Digital Foundry expects GTA 6 to target 30fps on every console. The Pro is a step above both in graphics, and Microsoft has no Pro-style model. What separates them for GTA 6 is not speed but the controller: Sony says the PS5 version uses the DualSense’s haptic feedback and adaptive triggers, and the Xbox controller has no adaptive triggers.
One thing to know before you choose Xbox for cloud play: Xbox’s Matt Ball said on 7 October that GTA 6 will not stream to PC through Xbox Cloud Gaming at launch. We covered that in our GTA 6 PC article.
If you already own a Series X, keep it for GTA 6. If you are buying new and only care about the best-looking version, the Pro is the one to wait for. If you care about price, the PS5 with a disc drive at £569.99 is £100 cheaper than the Series X.
Is the PS5 Pro worth it? Who should upgrade from a PS5
The PS5 Pro is worth it if you play on a 4K TV and care about image quality across many games, not just GTA 6. It is not worth it if you play on a 1080p screen, if you only want it for GTA 6, or if you would have to pay a reseller’s price.
- Upgrade if you have a large 4K TV and play a lot of Sony’s own games. The Pro modes in Spider-Man 2, Ratchet & Clank and The Last of Us give you 60fps and sharp 4K together, which the PS5 cannot.
- Upgrade if you are buying your first PlayStation anyway and can get a Pro at £789.99. You get 2TB of storage and a console that should age better.
- Do not upgrade just for GTA 6. On current evidence it will run at 30fps on both, and the base PS5 version already impressed Digital Foundry.
- Do not upgrade if you play on a 1080p TV or monitor. Most of the Pro’s gain is in 4K sharpness, and you will not see it. Our guide to QHD vs 4K screens explains why resolution decides this.
- Do not pay $1,399 or any UK equivalent for a used one. Wait for Sony restocks at £789.99.
What about waiting for a PS6? Sony has not announced a PS6 release date or price. Our PlayStation 6 guide tracks what has been reported. GTA 6 arrives in six weeks, and both PS5 models will run it.
Quick answers
In graphics, yes: the Pro has 67% more graphics compute units and Sony’s PSSR upscaler, so supported games look sharper and often run at 60fps with 4K detail. In processing, no: the processor is the same chip, only 10% faster, so games limited by the processor gain little.
The PS5 Pro is the more powerful console and has 2TB of storage. The PS5 is £220 cheaper with a disc drive built in, and on 8 October it was available on Sony’s UK store while the Pro was sold out. For most people on a 1080p screen, or buying mainly for GTA 6, the PS5 is the better buy.
Only if you play on a 4K TV and want better image quality across many games. If you mainly want GTA 6, keep your PS5: both consoles are expected to run it at 30fps, and the Pro’s gain is mostly sharpness.
It should look a little better. The UK PlayStation Store lists GTA 6 as PS5 Pro Enhanced, and Digital Foundry expects sharper images and better ray tracing on the Pro. Neither Sony nor Rockstar has said what the enhancement includes.
Yes. GTA 6 launches on 19 November 2026 on PS5 and PS5 Pro, as well as Xbox Series X and Series S. The Pro is listed as an enhanced version.
No 60fps mode has been announced. Digital Foundry judges 60fps extremely unlikely on any console because GTA 6 is limited by the processor, and the Pro’s processor is only 10% faster. Rockstar is reported to be considering higher frame rate modes after launch.
No. The PS5 Pro is digital only. Sony sells a disc drive for £69.99 that fits the Pro and the PS5 Digital Edition. You do not need it for GTA 6, whose physical edition contains a download code rather than a disc.
£789.99 on Sony’s PlayStation Direct store, since a £90 price rise on 2 April 2026. It launched at £699.99 in November 2024. With Sony’s disc drive it comes to £859.98.
On Sony’s UK PlayStation Direct store, yes, as of 8 October 2026. Some UK retailers have had stock on and off. In the US, GameStop is selling used Pros at $1,399.99.
The PS5 Pro should give the best-looking version, but both run GTA 6 at the same expected 30fps. For value, the standard PS5 with a disc drive at £569.99 is the sensible choice, especially while the Pro is hard to find.
How we know
We are a UK technology retailer. We sell PC components and laptops, not consoles, so nothing on this page earns us anything whichever PlayStation you choose.
UK prices and stock status come from Sony’s PlayStation Direct UK store, read directly on 8 October 2026, and the Xbox Series X price from Microsoft’s UK store on the same day. Sony’s price history is from its PlayStation Blog. Hardware specifications are from Sony’s PS5 Pro page and Wikipedia’s PlayStation 5 article, which cites Sony’s figures. The PS5 Pro Enhanced tag was read from GTA 6’s UK PlayStation Store listing.
We have not tested GTA 6 on either console, and nobody outside Rockstar can yet. Performance findings come from Digital Foundry’s analysis of Rockstar’s Extended Look, quoted and linked. Anything Rockstar has not said itself is labelled as reported. Retail prices outside Sony’s store change daily.
Sources
- PlayStation Direct UK: PS5 Pro, PS5, PS5 Digital Edition, refurbished consoles, disc drive and vertical stand prices and stock, 8 October 2026.
- PlayStation Blog, 27 March 2026: the price rises effective 2 April 2026.
- PlayStation Blog, 1 October 2026: QSSR for the base PS5.
- PlayStation Blog, 24 June 2026: “Grand Theft Auto VI plays best on PS5”.
- Sony, PS5 Pro page and PS5 page, including the January 2028 digital-only notice.
- PlayStation Store UK, Grand Theft Auto VI: the PS5 Pro Enhanced tag.
- Digital Foundry, GTA 6 Extended Look analysis and Digital Foundry, hands-on with QSSR.
- Vice Heist: how Rob Nelson’s 30fps remark was relayed.
- Wikipedia, PlayStation 5: processor, graphics, memory, storage and weight figures.
- VGC and ExtremeTech: GameStop used prices and trade-in values.
- Radio Times: UK retailer stock on 7 October and the Japanese lottery.
- BBC News: GTA 6 physical edition without a disc.
- Microsoft Store UK: Xbox Series X price.
- ResetEra threads on GTA 6 at 30fps and GameStop’s used prices.
Images: PS5 Pro photo from a video by BeatEmUps on Wikimedia Commons, and the three-console photo from a video by 小宁子 XNZ on Wikimedia Commons, both licensed CC BY 3.0.
