The PlayStation 5 has been out for a couple of months now, although it doesn’t feel like it for a lot of us. That’s because the release felt a little more like a few random shock drops for some exclusive sneakers as opposed to a worldwide release of a new games console. Regardless of that, those who managed to snag one love it, and those who haven’t can’t wait to get their hands on one. As of now, there is a scarce number of games that have come out since the PlayStation 5’s release, and of course, no games that you can’t buy on a previous generation console. But when that does happen in the next few years, some gamers might have questions about which of their old games will be supported by the PS5 moving forward. It’s often a confusing thing to wrap your head around because logic would state that a brand-new console should be able to play anything that came before it, but of course, that’s not always the case. To answer those queries and clear it all up, we took it upon ourselves to answer those questions.
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PlayStation 5 Backwards Compatibility: Will The PS5 Play PS3 and PS4 Games?
Will The PS5 Play PS1 Games?
We hope you’ve got an old PlayStation in storage somewhere because once again, with the release of a new-generation console, the original console’s games will not be playable over two decades later. We’re dying for those games to be easily playable today and would take them all without a bump in graphics too. The closest we’ve come to getting something like this is the release of the PlayStation Classic, the mini version of the original PlayStation that comes with 20 games on it.
Will The PS5 Play PS2 Games?
Unfortunately, you won’t be able to bring out those old school classics and take a hit of nostalgia with your PS2 games on the PS5 either. The truth is, if Sony made games from their 2000 console available to play again today, they’d be able to charge $1,000 for each console and would probably still sell the same amount.
Will The PS5 Play PS3 Games?
Just like the PS1 and PS2, PS3 games, unfortunately, won’t see a resurgence in coming years due to the PS5 because they are also not playable on the new console. We can only hope that one day there’ll be a re-release of the PlayStation 3 of some sort, or Sony offer gamers a new way to play their old games, whether it’s the introduction of backward compatibility or remasters. Speaking of remasters, PS3 games like the first three games in the Uncharted series, The Last of Us and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare that were remastered for the PlayStation 4 will be playable on the PlayStation 5.
Will The PS5 Play PS4 Games?
To the delight of fans worldwide, The PS5 does support PS4 games, although it should be said that that comes with the tiniest of asterisks.
In October of last year, weeks before the PlayStation 5 became available, Sony released a list of ten PlayStation 4 games that will not be playable on the brand-new console. That list includes DWVR, Afro Samurai 2: Revenge of Kuma Volume One, TT Isle of Man – Rise on the Edge 2, Just Deal With It!, Shadow Complex Remastered, Robinson: The Journey, We Sing, Hitman Go: Definitive Edition, Shadwen, and Joe’s Diner. A lot of fans will not have heard of most of this list, which is a relief because there was a fear that all of our old PlayStation 4 discs would become obsolete immediately. Thankfully, they are the only ones.
Other than those ten games, every single PS4 game ever released will be playable on the PS5 (which is a library of over 4,000), with many of the more recent releases like FIFA 21 and Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War having an upgraded version on offer for fans. There are a few dozen games that Sony admitted may feature some bugs or graphical glitches, but it’s nothing to be worried about. The good news is that due to the new hardware on the PS5, the vast majority of games will actually benefit from improved loading times or gameplay speeds, meaning that some will almost feel like a re-release. Don’t worry; it’s an easy process to play old games too, with all of them available by disc or on the PlayStation Store. You can also copy them over on a USB or through Wi-Fi.