PS5 Pro myth debunked by Sony: 'There's a certain amount of flopflation going on'

The lead architect of PS5 and PS5 Pro has addressed one of the biggest myths about Sony's new console

(Credit: Sony)

• 🤔 Sony has addressed one of the biggest PS5 Pro misconceptions

• 🙂‍↔️ PS5 lead architect Mark Cerny has said leaks created a misunderstanding

• 📈 The PS5 Pro’s teraflop number was grossly overestimated

• 🤷‍♂️ However, Cerny says teraflop numbers are “pretty meaningless”

The PS5 Pro is now in the hands of gamers who desire the very best experience when playing PlayStation 5 games. However, Sony has now released a PS5 Pro Technical Seminar, which addresses one of the biggest misconceptions about its new console.

Presented by Mark Cerny, lead architect of PS5 and PS5 Pro, the presentation dives into the technical specifications of the PlayStation 5 Pro and explains how the improvements help developers.

Surprisingly, Cerny clears up one of the more prominent myth about’s the PS5 Pro: its teraflop number. Leaks suggested that the PlayStation 5 Pro would deliver 33.5 teraflops, but Cerny says this is a misunderstanding.

“One thing I’d like to clear up is the erroneous 33.5 teraflop number that’s been circulating for PS5 Pro,” said Cerny. “That number isn’t anywhere in our developer docs. It comes from a misunderstanding by someone commenting on leaked PS5 Pro technical information.

“Part of the confusion comes from RDNA 3 architectures having double the flops of RDNA 2 architectures. Now, to quote Digital Foundry on this topic, it’s a nice little bonus to have twice the flops, but it doesn’t do anything like double real world performance, so there’s a certain amount of flopflation going on here.”

Cerny explains that, in reality, the PS5 Pro has 67% more work group processors than the PS5, and is therefore capable of 16.7 teraflops. Cerny says most developers will probably achieve a 45% increase in rendering speed, as particular game engines will respond differently to the new architecture of the PS5 Pro.

PS5 Pro also doesn’t use RDNA 3, but what Cerny likes to call RDNA2.x, which brings in some elements of RDNA 3. Cerny says Sony didn’t adopt RDNA 3 as that would have required developers to require two versions of their games: one for PS5 and one for PS5 Pro, as code compiled on PS5 Pro wouldn’t run on PS5. “That’s a massive complication,” Cerny explains. “It’s a big burden for the developers. Consequently, PS5 Pro uses a version of RDNA 2 I’m calling RDNA 2.x.”

Cerny’s PS5 Pro technical seminar is a rather fascinating watch overall, but it’s unlikely to convince anyone to rush out and buy a PlayStation 5 Pro. If you’re interested in learning more about how a console works under the hood, though, it’s worth your time.

• Up next: PS5 Pro owners miss out, as Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth looks far better on PC

Adam Vjestica is The Shortcut’s Senior Editor. Formerly TechRadar’s Gaming Hardware Editor, Adam has also worked at Nintendo of Europe as a Content Marketing Editor, where he helped launch the Nintendo Switch. Follow him on X @ItsMrProducts.