As you surely know, PlayStation 5 has the long-awaited backward compatibility that players have asked so much for over the years. Sony has done its homework with its next-generation console, and most of its predecessor’s titles can be enjoyed on PS5 without much trouble. Therefore, if you already have an arsenal of physical PS4 games or a good collection in your PlayStation Network account, you will be able to use them on your new console . In this post we will tell you what are the steps to perform which games are unfortunately not compatible at the moment.
According to Sony itself, PS5 is backwards compatible with approximately 99% of the PlayStation 4 catalog. Obviously, we would have loved if the console was also compatible with PlayStation 3 games or even with legendary PlayStation 2 and PSX games. Sony has not wanted to specify the reasons why there is not a complete backward compatibility between PlayStation 5 and all its predecessors. But we imagine that it is due to a computer architecture issue, and it is that a priori, emulating the hardware of a console as complex as PS2 is even complicated today. Despite this, this does not mean that we will not see ports of old console games on the PlayStation Store during this gen.
What PS4 games are not supported on PS5?
The list of titles not compatible with PS5 was much more extensive, but thanks to the updates, at the moment there are only 14 games that are left out of the white giant Sony, which are the following:
- Assassin’s Creed Syndicate
- Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: India
- Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China
- Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: Russia
- Afro Samurai 2: Revenge of Kuma Volume One
- Hitman Go: Definitive Edition
- Just Deal With It!
- Risk
- Robinson: The Journey
- Shadwen
- Star Trek Bridge Crew
- TT Isle of Man – Ride on the Edge 2
- We sing
- Werewolves Within
Does the game pass have any advantage?
If you wonder if you are going to have any graphic improvement, the answer is no. But there are advantages. The first of all is that if you play PS4 titles in digital format on PS5, you will benefit from the loading times of the SSD of the next generation console.
The second advantage is that you will be able to sell the second-hand console if you want and recover some money, since unless you have one of the games that are not compatible, you will not really need it. Of course, make sure before transferring your games (you can see how it is done at the end of this guide).
How to play PlayStation 4 games on PS5
As long as you don’t want to play any of the titles we mentioned in the previous paragraph, playing your PS4 titles on your next-generation console is very simple .
Digital games
The games that you bought at the time through the PlayStation Store on your PlayStation 4 can be played on PS5 without major problem.
- Make sure your PlayStation 5 is logged in with the same account that you purchased your games with on PlayStation 4. Otherwise, create a new profile and log in with that account.
- Go to the main menu of your PS5 and visit your Games Library.
- Browse through the list until you find the title you are looking for. Press ‘X’ on the icon and it will start downloading from the PlayStation Network servers.
- Wait for the download to complete.
- Once installed, you can run the game without problem.
Physical games
If, on the other hand, you do not have your games in digital format, but you bought them in physical format, the only thing you will have to do is insert the Blu-Ray disc in your PlayStation 5 console. The typical dialog will appear to install the data of the game on console. We will wait and that’s it. Once the process is done, we can play exactly the same as on PS4.
As you may have imagined, this step is only possible if you have the PS5 version with a disc reader . We’d love to tell you that there is a way to enjoy these games if you have the purely digital console, but at the moment, Sony has not published any official method to connect a compatible disc player to the PlayStation 5. If you have a good collection of games physical, you will have to get a console with reader yes or yes. And if you have them, but you have only been able to get the digital version, you will have to cross your fingers until Sony launches (or not) a solution.
From an external disk
If you had storage problems on your PlayStation 4 and you used an external hard drive or SSD in your console via USB , you will also be able to use it to play your PS4 titles on the new Sony console simply by connecting the disc to the PS5.
How to transfer data from PlayStation 4 to PS5
On your PlayStation 4 console , complete these first steps. Also have the PS5 on hand, since you will need to have both on at the same time from one of the points in the guide:
Trophy Synchronization
- Log into your PS4 with the same PlayStation account that you use on your PS5.
- Update your PS4 firmware to the latest version.
- Press the “Options” button within Trophies.
- Select the “Synchronize with PlayStation Network” option .
Data transfer
- Connect the two consoles to the same network . You can do this by connecting them to the same router , either through the Wi-Fi connection or using a pair of Ethernet cables.
- Connect each console to a different HDMI port on the same television (or each one to a different television if you have them nearby).
- Turn off your PS4 console.
- Now go to your PlayStation 5 (if you are using the same TV, switch HDMI using the “INPUT” or “Source” button on the TV remote).
- Go to Settings > System > Software System > Data Transfer . Click and select «Continue» .
- Select the PS4 console from which you want to transfer your games from the list.
- When the “data transfer ready” message appears on your PlayStation 5 , press the power button on your PS4 for a little over a second (you should hear a beep).
- Now select all the data that you want to transfer from one console to another.
- Read the information and accept to start the data transfer.
- The PlayStation 5 console will complete the process and restart automatically.
- Ready, you will have your games of your PS4 games on your next generation console.
