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Leak shows the PS5 controller will be backwards compatible with the PS4

Published Jan 17th, 2020 5:00PM EST
PS5 controller release date
Image: Olly Curtis/Future Publishing/Shutterstock

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We’re still anxiously awaiting any official news from Sony about the reveal of the PlayStation 5, but in the meantime, there have been plenty of leaks to keep us occupied. Several of those leaks have revolved around the controller that will ship with the new console — expected to be dubbed the DualShock 5 — but the latest actually comes from Sony itself. It appears that for a short time, on a page that explained the differences between the PS4 and PS4 Pro, the PlayStation France website included the DualShock 5 on its list of compatible controllers.

If you visit the same page on the UK site, you will only see the DualShock 4 listed under the “DualShock compatibility” section, but here’s a screenshot that Video Games Chronicle snagged from PS France:

Image source: VGC

The page has since been edited, but Sony might have accidentally confirmed that the DualShock 5 will be compatible with both the PS4 and PS4 Pro. There are plenty of reasons why this shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, perhaps most notably because the DualShock 4 could be used with the PlayStation 3 fairly flawlessly. Furthermore, the leaks (providing they’re accurate) have indicated that the DualShock 5 will be similar to its predecessor.

As always, there’s a chance that this was nothing more than an innocent mistake that doesn’t reflect Sony’s plans for the future of the PlayStation brand, but with the PS5 reveal event expected to take place next month, it’s also possible that the company is beginning to do some work behind the scenes to prepare for the console’s arrival. We know that Sony is skipping E3 2020, so we expect the unveiling — whenever it takes place — to feature every possible detail that anyone would want to know about the next-gen console (and its controller).

In case you’re curious, here’s what the DualShock 5 might look like, based on recent patents from Sony.

Jacob Siegal
Jacob Siegal Associate Editor

Jacob Siegal is Associate Editor at BGR, having joined the news team in 2013. He has over a decade of professional writing and editing experience, and helps to lead our technology and entertainment product launch and movie release coverage.