PlayStation 5 backward compatibility won't launch with every PS4 game

With Xbox’s impressive commitment to backward compatibility for not only Xbox One but also Xbox Series X, PlayStation 5 backward compatibility is a must-have feature for the next-generation. Unfortunately, it would appear Sony is already dropping the ball. 

While PlayStation 5 backward compatibility with Playstation 4 and PlayStation 4 Pro games was confirmed at yesterday’s PlayStation 5 reveal event, it was not the announcement that many were hoping for.

While Xbox Series X will be offering full backward compatibility with Xbox One and Xbox One X games, Microsoft’s platform will also be offering Original Xbox and Xbox 360 games in their limited compatibility. For more details on Xbox Series X compatibility, we have an article for that.

PlayStation 4 backward compatibility with the PlayStation 5 appears to be more limited than many would have wanted with their next-gen console. Instead, the backward compatibility solution is more akin to how Microsoft treats Xbox 360 and Original Xbox games on Xbox One.

Because of the more powerful hardware, PlayStation 5 lead system architect Mark Cerny claims that some PlayStation 4 games “just can’t handle” the more powerful hardware. If you’ve put any considerable amount of time into emulating games you’ll know what that means: Welcome to Glitch City!

Thankfully, PlayStation 4 games will be treated on an individual “title-by-title basis”, although only the top 100 PlayStation 4 games might be ready in time for launch. Just like with Xbox One’s Backward compatibility, it should be smooth sailing for the games that do launch on the system. Unfortunately, it seems there won’t be any PlayStation 1, PlayStation 2 or PlayStation 3 backward compatibility on PlayStation 5. That’s a shame.

For more PlayStation 5 details, check out our PS5 vs Xbox Series X article. You can also read here to find out how PS5 expandable storage works for both current-gen and next-gen games.