Play PS4 games on PS5: This is how it works

by Mike

Since the release of the PlayStation 5, many fans are interested in whether PS4 games can also be played on the PS5. There is a so-called backwards compatibility of some game titles.

Play PS4 games on the PS5

On 19 November 2020, the new Playstation 5 was released. Since then, many fans wondered whether their games for the older PS4 console generation would also run on the PS5.

  • The first statement on this was made at a Sony press conference in March 2020. There it said that the 100 most popular games of the PS4 will also be playable on the PS5. This is measured by the time all players have spent in the respective game.
  • According to PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan, it was announced at the time that around 99% of PS4 games would also be playable on the PlayStation 5. This is possible because the PS5 also has a Blu-Ray drive in the appropriate version to insert PS4 DVDs.
  • But digital versions of PS4 games available in the PSN store are also playable on the PS5 as long as “PS4” is next to the games. You can often choose between the PS4 and PS5 version here.
  • This is especially important if you want to use your saves from the PS4 on the PS5. Only for online games such as Battle Royale titles, where your data is also stored online on servers, will the PS4 game data also be transferred to the PS5 version of the game. Otherwise, you will need to select the PS4 version of the title to upload your PS4 save data there.
  • Sony titles are all available on the PS5 in backwards compatible as well. However, for some games like “We Sing”, it is not possible to play the PS4 version on the PS5.
  • For full information on which games are backwards compatible, visit the Sony website.

PS5: Backwards compatibility with even older console generations

However, you cannot insert discs from even older PS games, such as the PS3, into the PS5. The hardware of the older console generations is too different compared to the PS5 for this.

  • There is, however, another way to play older games. Sony has launched a service called PlayStation Now, which lets you stream a wide range of PlayStation games. This means you don’t own the games, but play them directly from the Sony Cloud.
  • Since the backwards compatibility of the latest generation is missing, Sony is apparently trying to make the older games more accessible via it.

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