PS5 Backwards Compatibility Works With PS4, Won’t Be Fully Available At Launch

The Sony press conference is now a wrap revealing what fans can expect in terms of PS5 specs for the next generation. There’s no doubt that both the Xbox Series X and the PlayStation 5 are powerful machines, but what about the long-rumored backwards compatibility? 

The Xbox brand has been leading the backwards compatibility charge for a while now and while there have been rumors that PlayStation 5 will follow suit finally, we only have confirmation in terms of the PlayStation 4. While we await further news about the PlayStation 5 backwards compatibility with systems older than the current-gen, we do at least have confirmation that PS4 titles are fair game, just not at launch as a whole.

The reason why 100% backwards compatibility won’t be available at launch, according to Sony’s Mark Cerny, is that many of the PlayStation 4 titles aren’t quite fast enough for PS5’s specs. That being said, the goal is to slowly integrate more and more titles, just like Xbox One has done thus far with 360 and the original Xbox libraries. A list of titles that will be available will be provided at a later date.

As far as PlayStation 1 – 3 libraries go, that rumor has been around for quite some time, especially as Xbox delved more into the original library for their first system. That being said, it looks like those may very well just be rumors, because we spoke with several of our contacts on the analyst side and former Sony employees that older libraries aren’t Sony’s focus at this time. We’re still reaching out for more clarification but at this time, it doesn’t look likely. 

The showcase, though drier than many may have anticipated given that this was originally meant to be a GDC showcase, is now a rap but you can learn more about the PlayStation 5 before its holiday 2020 release with our Hub here to learn more about all of the official news, rumors, and leaks experienced thus far.