PlayStation 5 release date: Backward compatibility support unlikely for games from PS1 to PS3 generations

Of the many unanswered questions about PlayStation 5, gaming fans are most curious about Sony’s plans for backward compatibility. It may have been accidentally provided by Ubisoft in its FAQ page for the next-generation console.

PlayStation 5 backward compatibility: What to expect

One of the glaring differences between Sony and Microsoft when it comes to advertising their next-generation consoles is the way they explain backward compatibility support. This feature allows players to access games from an older system onto newer hardware including all of the saved data such as game progress, achievements, and in-game purchases.

A clearer answer to Sony’s plan for PlayStation 5 backward compatibility may have been provided by a third-party gaming company. A Reddit user spotted that the Australian website of Ubisoft indicated that games released on the first through the third generations of PlayStation cannot be played on PlayStation 5. This information has been removed from the page now, but the same source provided a mirror link showing Sony’s supposed policy on backward compatibility.

Sony has yet to address the now-deleted information, but it should be noted that the company has previously explained how it would treat backward compatibility on PlayStation 5. And Ubisoft’s support page seems to reflect Sony’s earlier statement.

While Sony does not directly confirm the non-support for games released on PS3 and earlier, the company has only promised the PlayStation 5 backward compatibility for PS4 games. “With all of the amazing games in PS4’s catalog, We’ve devoted significant efforts to enable our fans to play their favorites on PS5,” SIE Senior Vice President Hideaki Nishino noted in a blog post last March. “We believe that the overwhelming majority of the 4,000+ PS4 titles will be playable on PS5.”

To be fair, PlayStation 5 launching with backward compatibility on its first day is already an improvement compared to PS4. But it still appears limited in comparison with what Microsoft has promised. Titles released on all Xbox systems and currently supported on the Xbox One backward compatibility will also be playable on the Xbox Series X. “Backwards compatible games run natively on the Xbox Series X hardware, running with the full power of the CPU, GPU and the SSD,” Jason Ronald, Xbox Series X Director of Program Management, wrote last May.

PlayStation 5 release date eyed in mid-November

Sony has yet to commit on a month of a release date for the PlayStation 5, but recent reports suggest it could happen in the middle of November. This has always been the speculated launch window for the console considering that its predecessors have been released in the same month of their respective years in time for the holiday.

Featured photo by Nikita Kachanovsky on Unsplash