Skip to main content

Sony still working out the PS5 backwards compatibility details

The VG247 logo in white on a red background
Image credit: VG247

You may have noticed that since compatibility with PS4 games has been announced for PS5, nearly zero details about exactly how it's going to work have been revealed.

Sony first confirmed that PS5 will indeed be capable of playing PS4 games earlier this year, with SIE CEO Jim Ryan calling it a key part of the process of transitioning PS4 owners into the next generation.

The feature's reveal wasn't completely surprising, but we've yet to be told how it's going to work. Questions like whether compatibility will be available on a per-game basis, and whether PS5 owners will be able to, say, download their digital PS4 games onto PS5, remain unanswered.

It turns out, even Sony is not yet sure of all these details. Following the PS5 name and release target reveal, the platform holder spoke to Japanese magazine Famitsu, who brought up the subject of backwards compatibility.

Watch on YouTube

"Currently, the dev team is putting all power on verifying whether they can secure a complete compatibility. Please wait for more information," Sony told Famitsu, as translated by @bk2128.

As part of yesterday's info blowout, Sony confirmed that the GPU inside the PS5 is capable of ray tracing at the hardware level, dispelling earlier rumours that the graphics tech will be handled by software.

And, although we've yet to get a look at it, the PS5's new controller sounds impressive, with haptic feedback and adaptive triggers.

We're still over a year out from the PS5's targeted release window, so there's plenty of time for Sony to hash out the details and reveal them to the world when it's ready.

Read this next