Leaked webpage suggests PS5 backwards compatibility only possible with system update

According to a leaked web page, Sony’s PlayStation 5 will only allow gamers to play PlayStation 4 backwards compatible games via a system update.

PlayStation’s Icelandic website published a listing about this possibility seemingly ahead of time. While the entry has since been taken down, the cached page has been posted on ResetEra and Reddit and sheds further light on how PS5 backwards compatibility could work.

PS5 owners will apparently have to download a system update to play PS4 titles on their new console. There’s no word on whether this system update will be a day one patch for PS5 units, or if it’ll arrive sometime in the future. The description on the page reads, “Marvel at incredible graphics and experience new PS5 features. Play a back catalog of supported PS4 games with system update.”

PS5 backwards compatibility follows in the footsteps of Microsoft’s Xbox One backwards compabitility function. Xbox One owners have been able to play Xbox 360 and original Xbox games using this function for years, and Xbox Series X will also support this feature. With reports suggesting that Sony will hold a PS5 conference in early June, it’s likely that someone jumped the gun and posted the listing before its official announcement.

Sony has discussed PS5 backwards compatibility in the past and explained that it would be a feature of their next-gen console. A PlayStation blog post posted after a presentation regarding PS5 specifications revealed that the “overwhelming majority of 4,000+ PS4 titles” will be backward compatible on PS5.

Sony’s first-party titles will likely be made backwards compatible first, while third-party games could come once the functionality is up and running.