PS5 backwards compatibility: Will Sony’s next-gen console play your old games?
The PS4 has been part of our gaming lives for almost six years now, bringing with it an abundance of games we’d love to keep playing even once the console itself has been retired.
Whether its physical or digital, our gaming libraries have grown so substantial, and we’d hate being forced to purchase remasters and more expensive re-releases on the new console.
So, will the PS5 support backwards compatibility? Trusted Reviews has compiled everything you need to know about this upcoming feature ahead of the PS5 launch.
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PS5 backwards compatibility – Can I play PS4 games?
Yes! Sony has confirmed that it will be fully backwards-compatible with PS4. It has said the “top 100” PS4 games will be playable at launch, although this could change.
Marvel’s Spider-Man was used as an example of showcasing absurdly fast loading times on a development kit, so it’s safe to assume both physical and digital libraries will be carried over on your PSN account.
This is a huge sigh of relief for the PlayStation ecosystem, providing players an incentive to upgrade knowing all their current titles will work right out of the box. If no launch games catch your fancy, you can still hopefully login and find all your possessions intact.
PS5 backwards compatibility – Will there be a Boost Mode?
One of the PS4 Pro’s defining features beyond its 4K capabilities is a ‘Boost Mode’ which enhances performance on games yet to receive official patches for the console. Alongside supersampling, it provided players with 1080p displays a reason to upgrade from the base console.
It remains unclear whether your PS4 library will receive a similar selection of upgrades when played on PS5, or if developers will need to issue special patches to make it so.
We’d love to receive some subtle visual and performance enhancements purely from playing on the new platform, especially if PS5 has plenty of extra horsepower just sitting there waiting to be used.
Related: Everything we know about Xbox Series X
PS5 backwards compatibility – What about PS1, PS2 and PS3?
Only PS4 titles have been confirmed thus far to work on PS5, but a recent patent suggests this could stretch to all other PlayStation platforms. Note: this presumably won’t include PSP or Vita.
This would be both a dream come true for players and a very ambitious feat for Sony to accomplish. However, for those loyal to PlayStation, it would lead to a platform where you can feasibly play every single PS1, PS2, PS3, PS4 and PS5 game you own without issue.
But this raises an avalanche of questions that we’d need to see answered if any of this comes to fruition. Will PS5 support all physical games? Will classic purchases from past platforms carry over? What about trophy support and cloud saves?
Are you hyped for the PS5? Let us know your thoughts on Facebook and Twitter @trustedreviews.
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We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
