Sony makes PSSR 2.0 the default upscaler in the latest PS5 Pro beta

Sony has quietly introduced a welcome quality-of-life improvement for PS5 Pro owners in its latest system software beta. The update automatically enables PSSR 2.0 (PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution 2.0) for supported games, removing the need to dig through system settings to activate the enhanced upscaling technology manually.

Previously, players had to switch on the "Enhance PSSR Image Quality" option themselves before games could take advantage of the improved image reconstruction. With the new beta installed, that setting is enabled by default, allowing compatible PS5 Pro titles to benefit from sharper visuals and, in some cases, smoother performance straight away.

Sony outlined the change in patch notes sent to members of the PS5 Beta Program, with reports from PlayStation LifeStyle confirming that PSSR 2.0 now activates automatically after the update is installed. According to Sony, the goal is to provide a "sharper and clearer" image without requiring users to adjust any settings.

While the feature itself isn't new, making it the default is. Sony first introduced PSSR 2.0 in March 2026 alongside Resident Evil: Requiem, but many PS5 Pro owners likely never realized the improved version was available because the option remained tucked away in the console's settings menu.

The change also reflects how far Sony's AI upscaling has come since the PS5 Pro launched in late 2024. The original version of PSSR promised PC-style image reconstruction similar to NVIDIA DLSS, but early implementations drew criticism for issues such as ghosting, shimmering, image artifacts, and blurry visuals in games including Silent Hill 2, Alan Wake 2, and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.

Players who prefer a game's native rendering or the original PSSR behavior can still disable the feature manually by navigating to Settings > Screen and Video > Video Output and turning off "Enhance PSSR Image Quality."

For now, the update is exclusive to participants in Sony's PS5 Beta Program. The company has not announced when the new default behavior will roll out to all PS5 Pro owners, but assuming testing goes smoothly, it will likely become part of a future public system software update.

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