Sony's latest PS5 beta firmware update switches PSSR 2.0 — the improved version of its AI image-upscaling technology — to the default setting on PS5 Pro, meaning every game that supported the original PSSR will now benefit from the upgraded version automatically. According to Sony, the update is aimed mainly at PS5 Pro owners enrolled in the PlayStation 5 Beta Programme (VGC, 6 August 2026).

PSSR, short for PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution, is an AI library that analyses game images pixel by pixel as it upscales them, boosting the effective resolution of supported games. It launched in November 2024 as a headline feature of the PS5 Pro. The improved PSSR 2.0 arrived in March 2026 alongside the release of Resident Evil Requiem, after what Sony described as a further six months of refinement for the console (PlayStation Blog, 27 February 2026).

Until now, using PSSR 2.0 in a game that only supported the original version required a manual step. Players had to find a setting called "Enhance PSSR Image Quality" under Screen and Video > Video Output and switch it on themselves. The new beta update flips that option on by default, so anyone who never knew the setting existed will see a visual improvement in their PSSR-supported games without touching a menu (VGC, 6 August 2026).

Sony first added the PSSR 2.0 override capability in March 2026, rolling it out in phases from 16 March at 10:00 AM PT. Since then, the upgraded upscaler has been applied to titles including Silent Hill f, Monster Hunter Wilds, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Crimson Desert, and Doom: The Dark Ages (PlayStation Blog, 16 March 2026; PlayStation Blog, 24 June 2026). The company says PSSR 2.0 improves image upscaling quality and stability, using efficient sampling techniques without sacrificing visual fidelity.

The scale of the change is worth noting. Over 100 games supported the original PSSR, and not all of them have had PSSR 2.0 officially applied by their developers. With this beta update, the override covers that gap — every PSSR-supported game gets the newer upscaler regardless of whether its studio has shipped a PSSR 2.0 patch (VGC, 6 August 2026).

The original PSSR had a bumpy ride in some titles. Players reported that upscaling in games such as Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Silent Hill 2, and Alan Wake 2 produced results that looked worse than the base PS5 console — the opposite of what a premium-tier machine should deliver. Sony's override lets PSSR 2.0 step in for those games even without a native patch from the developer.

For PS5 Pro owners, the practical effect is straightforward: once the firmware leaves beta and rolls out widely, games should look cleaner out of the box. No menu diving required.

The same beta firmware also adds a toggle to disable Bluetooth connections on the PS5. Sony says this is aimed at esports venues and similar environments where many consoles in close proximity cause controller-pairing chaos, and the company advises against using it for any other purpose (VGC, 6 August 2026).