- PS5 backward compatibility has been something of a mystery for the past several months, but Sony finally provided a detailed explanation of the feature this week.
- Sony says that “the overwhelming majority of PS4 games” will be playable on PS5, but the company has listed 10 PS4 games that will not work with the new console.
- You can easily transfer your PS4 games and save files from your PS4 to your PS5.
Sony’s slow drip of important information about the PlayStation 5 has been frustrating, but just over a month out from launch, we’re finally getting a more complete picture of the next-gen console. This week, Sony published a new page on its support website — one which offers the most detailed explanation of backward compatibility on the PS5 we’ve seen to date. Many questions are answered, including which PS4 games can’t be played on the PS5.
First and foremost, Sony makes it clear that “the overwhelming majority of PS4 games” will be playable on PS5. Over 4,000 games were released for the PS4, and you should be able to play almost all of them on your next-gen console. Plus, some of the games will benefit from the PS5’s Game Boost, “which may make PS4 games run with a higher or smoother frame rate.” That said, Sony also warns that some games may lack some of the functionality they have on the PS4, while others might “exhibit errors or unexpected behavior” while being played on a PS5.
Of course, if the PS5 is backward compatible with the “overwhelming majority” of PS4 games, that means that some won’t be playable on the new console. On the support page, Sony says that the following games will be marked with ‘Playable on: PS4 only’ on the PlayStation Store and will not be playable on the PS5:
- DWVR
- Afro Samurai 2 Revenge of Kuma Volume One
- TT Isle of Man – Ride on the Edge 2
- Just Deal With It!
- Shadow Complex Remastered
- Robinson: The Journey
- We Sing
- Hitman Go: Definitive Edition
- Shadwen
- Joe’s Diner
Admittedly, these aren’t exactly blockbuster titles (though there are a couple of gems on the list), but if you happen to own any of them or planned to buy them in the future, you won’t be able to play them on a PS5.
Sony also explains the method by which you’ll be able to play all of your PS4 games on the PS5. If you have a PS4 game disc, you can simply insert it into the PS5 disc drive (unless you bought a Digital Edition), download the update, and select the game hub from the Games home. The disc needs to be inserted every time you play. If you have digital copies of games, you can transfer them and your save files with a LAN cable or using WiFi data transfer. Also, if your PS4 games are on an external hard drive, you can just plug it into your PS5 and start playing.
Finally, yes, PlayStation VR games are among those backward compatible with the PS5. If you want to know even more about how this all-important feature will work on the PlayStation 5, head to the PlayStation Blog.
