New details on Sony’s plans for the PlayStation 5 have surfaced, and with them came a myriad of tech details that might not mean much to those who play their games more casually. Amid talks of GPUs and ray tracing, there was one detail that stood out among the rest: The PlayStation 5, or whatever name Sony may end up giving it, will be backwards compatible with users’ existing collection of PlayStation 4 games.
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The news that the PlayStation 5 would be backwards compatible came from a Wired interview with Sony’s mark Cerny, the lead systems architect on the new device who held the same role when working on the PlayStation 4. When asking about the specifics of the new console, Wired learned that the device will still support physical media which means you’ll still be able to pop a disc into it and play. That detail is one that should be reassuring to those who were worried about the console being digital-only, though there’s always the chance a separate console could follow Microsoft’s rumored strategy and only support digital games.
Since the console’s based partially on the PlayStation 4’s architecture, Wired said, it’ll be backwards compatible with that system’s games. That means everything from Bloodborne to God of War to Horizon Zero Dawn will be playable on the PlayStation 5. According to the full details Sony shared on the system, it looks like those games will almost be entirely new experiences on the next console, assuming they’re updated to take advantage of the next generation’s powerful features.
There is the question of whether platforms dating back before the PlayStation 4 will be supported on the console, though that seems less likely considering the only way to play older games on the PlayStation 4 now is to do so digitally. That doesn’t mean that people aren’t already submitting their requests for a more comprehensive backward compatibility feature though that would support games on the PlayStation 3 and perhaps even further back.
Am happy that the PS5 will be backwards compatible with the PS4/PSVR disc & digital games with enchantments. It’ll be great if they include PS1/PS2, & if possible the PS3 for the backwards compatible for the PS5. Will just have to wait for official confirmation about those then.
— Danix The 3rd (@DanixThe3rd) April 16, 2019
The #Playstation5 had better be backwards compatible with #PS3 games too. With the current console not having backwards compatibility with games from the previous generation, it would be an utter travesty if Sony did not make it happen this time in my view.
— phoenixmiko (@phoenixmiko) April 16, 2019
There’s no known release date for the PlayStation 5 nor is there any info on the pricing, but we know it won’t be out in 2019.
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