PS5 Pro Beta Switches PSSR 2.0 Image Boost On by Default
Sony's August 2026 firmware beta quietly removes the need for PS5 Pro owners to hunt through settings menus to get the best picture quality their console can offer.
What you need to know
- Sony's August 2026 PS5 Pro beta (firmware v3.0-14.00.00) was published on 6 August 2026 and rolls out PSSR 2.0 as a default setting
- Over 100 games supported the original PSSR, so the automatic switch affects a large back catalogue — even titles not yet officially updated to PSSR 2.0
- PS5 Pro owners who never dug into their settings will now benefit automatically; those who prefer original rendering can opt out via Settings > Screen and Video > Video Output
Sony Interactive Entertainment published a new PS5 system software beta on 6 August 2026, sending out PSN redemption codes by email to selected testers. The update, confirmed as firmware version v3.0-14.00.00 (Beta), carries one change that PS5 Pro owners in particular will want to know about: PSSR 2.0 — Sony's improved AI upscaling technology — is now switched on by default.
What's actually changed
Until this beta, the ability to run PSSR 2.0 on a PS5 Pro required owners to find and toggle on a setting called "Enhance PSSR Image Quality," buried under Settings > Screen and Video > Video Output. Sony introduced that option back in March 2026, but given where it lived in the menus, many owners are likely to have never discovered it.
The August 2026 beta changes that. According to Sony's official patch notes, reproduced across multiple outlets:
"We've turned on Enhance PSSR Image Quality as a default setting. When you update the system software, this setting automatically turns on. When you enable this feature, enhanced PSSR is used even for games that support the previous version of PSSR so you can enjoy a sharper and clearer visual experience."
In plain terms: every PS5 Pro game that was compatible with the original version of PSSR will now automatically run through the upgraded PSSR 2.0 pipeline, whether the individual game has been officially updated to support 2.0 or not. Owners who prefer the original rendering behaviour — or a game's native output — can still opt out by navigating to Settings > Screen and Video > Video Output and switching "Enhance PSSR Image Quality" off.
Why the original PSSR became a problem
PSSR — PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution — launched in November 2024 as the PS5 Pro's signature feature, promising AI-driven upscaling to lift image quality beyond what the base console could deliver. The reality proved messier. Players quickly noted shimmering on foliage, ghosting on moving objects, flickering on fine lines, and a characteristic soft quality in scenes with heavy ray tracing. In some titles, including Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Silent Hill 2 and Alan Wake 2, the PS5 Pro version actually looked noticeably worse than the base machine — a damaging outcome for a console that launched at a substantial premium.
Sony responded in March 2026 with PSSR 2.0, developed with AMD under the codename Amethyst and closely related to AMD's FSR 4 INT8 model. The updated upscaler debuted alongside Resident Evil: Requiem and brought meaningful improvements in clarity and frame-rate stability. A handful of games — including Doom: The Dark Ages and Spider-Man 2 — have since received native PSSR 2.0 support. But the toggle remained hidden, and the March firmware (26.02-13.00.00) did not make the enhanced version automatic.
The scale of the change
More than 100 games supported the original version of PSSR when this beta was published. Not all of them have had PSSR 2.0 officially applied by their developers. By switching on the enhanced version by default — and applying it retroactively to the full compatible library — Sony is extending the benefits of its improved upscaler far more broadly than any individual game update could manage.
According to Sony, the change delivers "a sharper and clearer visual experience" and helps mitigate frame-rate drops. The company states the feature is exclusive to PS5 Pro; base PS5 owners will not see this option.
Other changes in the beta
The August 2026 beta includes a smaller but notable tweak for esports venues and similar professional environments. Selecting "Turn Off Bluetooth" under Settings > Accessories > General > Advanced Settings will now also disable rest mode and the HDMI device link — a change designed to help organisers manage controller connections at competitive events. Sony is explicit that this function is intended for that specific use case and should not be used in other contexts.
Beyond those two changes, Sony says the update brings improved system software performance and stability. The beta does not make any other significant changes to base PS5 consoles.
When will it reach everyone?
For now, the beta is limited to participants in Sony's PS5 Beta Programme, who receive email invites with a PSN redemption code. Sony has not announced a date for the wider public rollout of the stable firmware update. Those not in the beta programme will need to wait for a separate announcement before these changes reach their consoles.
What this means for UK PS5 Pro owners
The PS5 Pro's UK recommended retail price stands at £789.99, following Sony's round of PlayStation hardware price increases that took effect from 2 April 2026. At that price point, the console's upscaling technology was always central to the value proposition — and the early problems with PSSR 1.0 made that proposition harder to defend.
Making PSSR 2.0 the default, and extending it automatically to over 100 compatible games, is the kind of course correction that matters. UK owners who never ventured into the video output settings — which is likely to be the majority — will now find their console delivering the sharper, more stable images it was always supposed to provide, at no extra cost and with no action required on their part.
- PSSR 2.0 is now on by default in the August 2026 beta (v3.0-14.00.00), published 6 August 2026
- It applies automatically to all games that supported the original PSSR, even without a developer update
- To disable it: Settings > Screen and Video > Video Output > Enhance PSSR Image Quality
- No confirmed date yet for the stable public rollout
- This is a PS5 Pro-exclusive feature
Why it matters
For UK buyers who paid up to £789.99 for the PS5 Pro following Sony's April 2026 price increases, this is a genuinely meaningful free improvement — and it requires nothing from them. The PS5 Pro's headline selling point, AI-powered image upscaling, was undermined at launch by shimmering, ghosting and a soft visual quality that left some games looking worse than on the base console. Sony addressed that with PSSR 2.0 in March 2026, but buried the toggle in a menu most owners would never visit. Making it a default — and extending it retroactively across the full library of PSSR-compatible titles — is the fix the console arguably needed from day one. No confirmed date for a stable public rollout exists yet, but beta participants get it now.