With PlayStation 5 release (supposedly) on the horizon, one feature that the fans keep asking about — how extensive the PS5 backward compatibility library is — seems to have been answered. Not by Sony themselves though, no, but according to Ubisoft’s official support page instead. On it, it’s written that while PS5 and PS4 do have a crossplay feature, PS5’s backward compatibility will only support “select” PS4 games and older consoles are not included:
Sony has not officially confirmed nor debunked the information. The last time Sony talked about backward compatibility for their next-gen console was in March, where PS5 lead architect Mark Cerny explained that they’re expecting most of the 100 top-played PS4 games are going “to be playable at launch on PS5“.
Backwards compatibility will be available for supported PlayStation 4 titles, but will not be possible for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, or PlayStation games.”
This move is completely different than Microsoft’s stance on backward compatibility. Even before Xbox Series X was revealed, the Xbox team has always emphasized their backward compatibility capability. Back in 2019, Xbox head Phil Spencer said that they’ve always wanted to make sure that their games, accessories, and Xbox Live service “are compatible across all the generations.”. Culminating with their Smart Delivery system.
Ubisoft’s other support page also supported their claim by listing:
- Achievements earned on Xbox One versions of supported games will be transferable to Xbox Series X.
- Xbox One players will be able to join multiplayer games with Xbox Series X players.
- Backward compatibility will be available for supported Xbox One, Xbox 360, and Xbox titles.
