Sony's PS5 Pro supply shortage could extend into next year, a report said.

IT media outlet Engadget reported on Oct. 11 that Sony told distribution partners store inventories would remain limited into next year due to "temporary market supply constraints and high demand."

The problem is that GTA 6, due to be released on Nov. 19, could push demand even higher. Expectations for next-generation graphics and a large open world are rising, prompting users to seek the latest consoles. But some expect it could become even harder to secure the PS5 Pro in time.

The PS5 Pro was first released in November 2024. It is a higher-end model featuring an improved graphics processing unit, enhanced 60-frames-per-second performance, advanced ray tracing, 2TB of storage and artificial intelligence-based upscaling. Even about 2 years after launch, supply constraints persist, pushing prices to about $200 above the initial suggested retail price of $699.99.

With the stock shortage dragging on, the resale market has also heated up. On Best Buy, one reseller listed the PS5 Pro for $1,539. Limited restocks and low store inventories are driving higher resale prices.

This supply crunch is hard to view as Sony's problem alone. In 2020, global chip shortages disrupted PS5 production for more than 3 years, forcing consumers to wait for months. This time, expanding AI investment is tightening supplies of advanced chips, creating bottlenecks and price increases across consumer electronics. More than $770 billion has been poured into U.S. chip production over the past 5 and a half years, but some say it could take longer for supply to recover given current demand.

Other device markets show similar trends. Laptop prices have reportedly risen 20 percent this year as Apple and Microsoft raised prices to reflect component development costs and the burden of AI hardware investment. In South Korea, factory prices for DRAM and flash memory surged 445 percent and 244 percent, respectively.

Sony has also rolled out measures in Japan. It introduced a lottery system for would-be PS5 Pro buyers and added conditions such as minimum gameplay time to filter out purchases intended for resale. If supply continues to lag demand, such methods could be expanded to other markets.

It remains unclear how much GTA 6 will draw on the PS5 Pro's performance. PlayStation applies a "PS5 Pro Enhanced" label to games with improved visual quality and performance, but Sony and Rockstar Games have not explained in detail how GTA 6 will differ on the PS5 Pro. Speculation emerged this summer that the PS5 Pro could support 60 frames per second, but Rockstar executives have maintained that both consoles will run at 30 frames per second. An official preview video also played at 30 frames per second on the PlayStation 5.

Some experts say the PS5 Pro may struggle to sustain higher frame rates given the scale of the game. They say a roughly 10 percent improvement in the PS5 Pro's central processing unit performance could help with rendering crowds and vehicles, but overall performance gains may be limited.

It could still offer advantages in visual effects. The PS5 Pro has enhanced ray-tracing performance, which could make a difference in light reflections and lighting. But some also say the perceived gap between the two consoles may be smaller than expected, as Sony applies its PS5 AI upscaling technology, "QSSR," to the base model as well. That could make PS5 Pro supply conditions and real-world performance differences key variables in consumer buying decisions when the year-end shopping season overlaps with the GTA 6 launch.