PlayStation Confirms PS5 Won't Be Backwards Compatible With PS3, PS2, and PS1

When the PS5 releases this November, it will play 99% of PS4 games via backward compatibility, but [...]

By Tyler Fischer

When the PS5 releases this November, it will play 99% of PS4 games via backward compatibility, but will it play PS3, PS2, or PS1 games? This has been the question Sony has been dodging since it was revealed the system would support some type of backward compatibility. Unfortunately, the answer to this question is: no. The PS5 won't play PS3, PS2, or PS1 games at launch, and there's no word of any plans to change this.

The information comes way of PlayStation boss Jim Ryan, who revealed the disappointing tidbit during a recent interview. According to Ryan, a big focus of Sony with the PS5 was creating a proper next-gen machine. However, it knows the PS4 has sold nearly 120 million units, and thus it knew PlayStation players would want to play their PS4 games on their new PlayStation console. However, Ryan says they "couldn't reach the implementation of such compatibilities" when talking about backward compatibility with the PS3, PS2, and PS1.

"We keep in mind the engineering specialized for the PS5, as we produced the device," said Ryan while speaking to Famitsu (translation via Siliconera). "In the midst of that, the PS4 already has 100 million players; we thought they ought to want to play PS4 titles on the PS5 as well indeed, so we included compatibility with the PS4. While implementing that, we also focused our efforts on taking in the high-speed SSD and the new controller DualSense at the same time. So, unfortunately, we couldn't reach the implementation of such compatibilities."

As you can see, Ryan seemingly suggests it was something Sony investigated, but it sounds like it either didn't have the bandwidth to make this happen or it would have cost too much. Whatever the case, it's news that will leave a chunk of PlayStation fans quite disappointed.

Of course, there was no reason to think PS5 would play PS3, PS2, or PS1 games, but there were some rumors suggesting it was going to do exactly this. Alas, it seems these rumors were bogus.

The PlayStation 5 is set to release worldwide on November 12, priced at $400 or $500, depending on what version of the console you cop.

For more coverage on the PS5 -- including the latest news, rumors, leaks, and updates -- click here or check out the relevant links below:

As always, feel free to leave a comment or your best hot-take or, alternatively, hit me up on Twitter @Tyler_Fischer_ to talk all things PlayStation.

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