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PS5 backwards compatibility won't support all PS4 games at launch

Not all PS4 games are created equal as Mark Cerny confirmed today that the PS5 won't support all PS4 games with backwards compatibility at launch, but that could change later.

Josh Hawkins

March 18, 2020 9:44 AM

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Backwards compatibility is a huge feature and the center of a lot of conversations when you talk about the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. Those looking to be able to play their favorite PlayStation 4 games on the PS5 will be sad to know that the PS5 won’t support all PS4 games with backwards compatibility at launch.

The news came during the Road to PS5 video presentation with Mark Cerny earlier today. In the video, Cerny talks about the importance of backwards compatibility, how Sony is approaching it with the PlayStation 5, and then touches on the fact that unfortunately, not all the PS4 games out there will be available with backwards compatibility on the PS5 at launch. Of course, this is always something that can change over time, and we’ve seen a great example of this with how the fine folks at Xbox constantly delivered new titles to the backwards compatibility catalogue on the Xbox One.

When talking about the PlayStation 5 in today's presentation, Cerny stated that, "running PS4 and PS4 titles at boosted frequencies has also added complexity." He continued, "the boost is truly massive this time around and some game code just can't handle it. Testing has to be done on a title by title basis." It sounds like the developers have their work cut out for them, but Cerny seemed positive that things would work out in the end.

While this might seem more doom and gloom than many want, Cerny later states that, "results are excellent, though." and that Sony tested the top 100 PlayStation 4 games as ranked by playtime, and the company is expecting "almost all of them to be playable at launch on PlayStation 5." Of course, the full results remain to be seen. Sony still has plenty of time ahead of the PS5's holiday release window, so we'll be keeping an eye out for any additional updates on the topic.

Josh Hawkins

Guides Editor

Joshua holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and has been exploring the world of video games for as long as he can remember. He enjoys everything from large-scale RPGs to small, bite-size indie gems and everything in between.