Will Playstation 4 Games work on Playstation 5?

Is PlayStation 4 games backward compatible with PlayStation 5?

This is a much-asked question, and not everything is fully clear. In general, it seems the majority of the games, especially recent releases should work on PlayStation 5. Some of the much older games may not.

Some PS4 games that were heavily coded for PS4 which are usually exclusive may not work well or with some bugs. Not a lot is known yet, but few points Sony clarified.

Enhanced gaming graphics

Firstly Sony has said any PlayStation 4 game that does work on PlayStation 5 will appear visually nicer. As the PS5 will upscale the quality and present it more enhanced.

It does this using PS5 Game Boost feature. Improving the visual quality performance of backwards-compatible PlayStation 4 games. When enabled and activated, you can visually see improved resolutions and framerates in select titles due to the increased CPU and Graphics power of the PlayStation 5. 

However some games may only visually look good, whereas others will actually increase speed and frame rates, all depends on how the developers coded the game originally.

So as an example, games that had increased frame rates updated for the PS4 Pro with an unlocked framerate of 60 frames-per-second cap on the PS4 Pro. Then on the PS5 the framerate will be locked at 60fps rather than it fluctuating from 40fps to 60fps if played on PlayStation 4 Pro.

If however a game was originally capped at 30 fps such as older titles then the visuals will never drop below 30 fps, but they wont go higher either.

BUT there is still hope

If you notice many times when you load a game on PS4, it downloads updates. Developers can use this feature and send an update patch to the Game and unlock more frames-per-second and make titles compatible if they so choose to do so.

Which PlayStation 4 Games are playable on PlayStation 5?

Officially, Sony has announced majority of PS4 games will work on PlayStation 5 !! 😁😁😁

But from what we have researched a few older games may not work well or at all such as:

• Afro Samurai 2: Revenge of Kuma Volume One
• DWVR
• Hitman Go: Definitive Edition
• Joe’s Diner
• Just Deal With It!
• Robinson: The Journey
• Shadow Complex Remastered
• Shadwen
• TT Isle of Man — Ride on the Edge 2
• We Sing

Also some games may load and be playable, however they may have bugs and glitches. Sony is aware of this and has attached warning notices to these games with the warning stating “When playing on PS5, this game may exhibit errors or unexpected behaviour and some features available on PS4 may be absent.” 

Can I still insert Physical PS4 Discs into PlayStation 5?

Yes. PlayStation 4 physical discs can be inserted and played on PlayStation 5. (PlayStation Digital you cannot insert anything obviously). You can also download games from the PSN network and play.

PlayStation 4 VR games will they work?

Yes again, sort off. As sony mentioned, majority of PS4 games will work on PlayStation 5. This also includes many PlayStation VR games. Again some may have bugs and glitches that likely will be fixed using an over the internet update.

But you will need to update softwares and firmware to ensure things are working smoothly.

Overall conclusion

PS4 games will appear smoother, faster and visually more enhanced when played on PlayStation 5 compared to if it was played on PlayStation 4 (Pro).

So it is exciting that over 4000+ Games will be playable on PlayStation 5 at launch

But it is very clear. To ensure everything works well and with little to no bugs.glitches. You will need to constantly ensure your console and games are updated to the latest software and firmware update.