Should You Buy PS5 Pro for GTA 6? Explained

Rockstar Games is once again launching its game on consoles first, skipping the PC master race at launch. The “Plays Best on PS5” marketing for GTA 6 makes the game almost feel like a PlayStation exclusive. Now this has PS fans wondering whether the base PS5 is enough or buying the PS5 Pro is the better choice for GTA 6. Honestly, the answer isn’t as simple as you think, with Rockstar remaining dead silent about the game’s performance. So should you get the PS5 Pro solely for GTA 6? Read on to find out whether upgrading to the PS5 Pro for GTA 6 is worth it in the end.

How Will GTA 6 Run on the PS5 Pro (Speculation)

Even though GTA 6 pre-orders have finally begun, Rockstar remains tight-lipped about the game’s performance on consoles. Thus, the wait for GTA 6 trailer 3 continues, as the upcoming trailer will definitely include glimpses of GTA 6 gameplay. Until then, we don’t have a concrete answer on how well the game will run on PS5 or PS5 Pro, and the debate goes on.

Nevertheless, several leaks, expert opinions, console spec sheets, and the history of Rockstar games’ performance on consoles give us an idea of what to expect on the Pro console. In case you didn’t know, the PS5 Pro didn’t receive any upgrade in the CPU department.

The Pro console comes with a 67% increase in GPU compute units and a 28% boost in memory bandwidth, resulting in 45% faster game rendering compared to the base PS5. Moreover, the Pro variant exclusively supports native upscaling tech, “PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR),” which has been a game-changer in PlayStation’s latest first-party games like Ghost of Yotei and Saros.

On paper, the PS5 Pro sounds like the perfect upgrade. But even the powerful console isn’t expected to offer 60 FPS, at least not at the game’s launch. Earlier, Richard Leadbetter of Digital Foundry shared his take about GTA 6’s performance on consoles. When asked if the game could run at 60 FPS on the PS5 Pro, he stated, “The PS5 Pro uses the same CPU as the PS5, and it would be extremely challenging to hit 60 FPS if the base PS5 version is targeting 30fps. This isn’t a GPU problem; it’s a CPU problem”

Months later, the Digital Foundry team revisited the debate in a new video and predicted that GTA 6 won’t likely run at 60 FPS on the PS5 Pro. GTA 6’s massive open world, complex character and environment physics, and other aspects of the simulation game force the performance to be limited to 30 FPS.

In RPGs, dense city locations are the most likely to drop frame-rates, and the GTA 6 world looks another level of magnitude more challenging than the likes of Dragon’s Dogma 2 or Baldur’s Gate 3. Add on the fact that you can traverse GTA 6 by ground, sea or air significantly faster than you can in either RPG, with vehicles that require their own computationally expensive physics, of the kind that normally forces console simulation games to 30fps, and 60fps feels like a bridge too far.

Historically, the previous Rockstar titles such as RDR2, GTA 5, and GTA 4 only featured a 30 FPS mode at launch. The only difference between the base and Pro model was improved resolution and better texture quality on the latter. Digital Foundry also mentioned that we can expect a Balanced mode (40 FPS) for 120Hz display owners.

Therefore, even though the GTA 6 listings on Brazilian and Polish platforms suggest that GTA 6 will feature two modes, including a 60 FPS Performance mode. It’s currently speculated that GTA 6 will likely run at 30 or 40 FPS on the PS5 Pro unless Rockstar completely unleashes their tech wizardry.

The studio has consistently pushed the boundaries of consoles every generation. So, we can hope Rockstar does their magic and keeps a 60 FPS performance mode ready for the GTA 6 launch. Until then, we can reasonably expect a resolution target closer to pure 4K, alongside better texture quality, compared to the standard PS5.

Should You Get a PS5 Pro to Play GTA 6?

At the end of the day, it totally depends on you. Recently, a GTA 6 listing on the Brazilian e-commerce site ‘KaBuM!’ revealed that the game is optimized for the PS5 Pro and offers more stable frame rates and even sharper resolutions. In addition, the Pro console reportedly supports advanced Ray Tracing. Therefore, everything points to the PS5 Pro being the best console for playing GTA 6.

Unfortunately, Sony recently announced a price hike for the PS5 and Pro. So, if you can afford the Pro variant and want to experience GTA 6 at the highest visual fidelity at launch, then the PS5 Pro is your go-to option. It is the most powerful current-gen console and will definitely offer tempting upgrades for GTA 6 over the base console.

Luckily, I bought a PS5 Pro before Sony’s price hike solely to experience GTA 6 without any compromises in the visual department day one. So, if you are someone who is obsessed with playing in the highest visual fidelity possible, like me, then getting the PS5 Pro for GTA 6 is a no-brainer.

Otherwise, if you don’t mind playing at 1080P or 2K resolutions, then you are completely fine with the base console. Moreover, one also needs a proper 4K display with 120 Hz support to get the most out of the PS5 Pro, especially if GTA 6 comes with a balanced 40 FPS mode.

Hopefully, now you know whether you should get a PS5 or PS5 Pro to run GTA 6. Let’s hope Rockstar Games releases a third trailer or a separate gameplay trailer highlighting the performance differences between the base PS5 and Pro variant. Until then, let us know in the comments whether you’ll be buying the PS5 Pro to play GTA 6.