The PS5's compatibility with PS4 games has been a big question mark for months, but it is slowly becoming clearer. Today's new information reveals good news about what will happen when games are upgraded to the next-generation format.
The news comes from redditor bigpapijugg, who shared a conversation with a PlayStation support agent on the PS5 subreddit. In his post, he explains that the PS4 version may still work after upgrading to PS5 using the free upgrade.
Essentially, you can get the PS5 version for free by upgrading the game. This Redditor asked about giving his PS4 to his son who got a PS5: "If I get a PS4 game like Miles Morales, will I be able to upgrade to the PS5 version so I can play it with two people?" I posed this question by saying.
The support representative (David) returned with good news. "Since the PS4 and PS5 versions are separate, and the PS5 version is free access to that platform, you should retain access to your progress and data from the PS4 version. In essence, it's like having two copies: one for each platform.
The caveat here is that David added that he cannot say with certainty whether the physical game will have this perk, before adding, "But we know that the digital version will be offered on both PS4 and PS5."
The full transcript follows:
Why would physical copies be treated differently? Since the original game cannot be accessed without a disc, one might speculate that it may not be possible to create a digital license that can be used without a disc.
Of course, it should be noted that the response from the PlayStation support representative is not an official statement from the company itself; David seems to know what he is talking about, but since PlayStation could simply make a statement that there was confusion here, this could still be reversed down the road.
Nevertheless, at least for last-gen titles that are compatible with upgrades to next-gen consoles, this would give all PS4 owners ample reason to purchase a digital copy while they are still using that console. It's not a bad idea to give away free games in addition to having specific games that are compatible with both consoles.
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