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PlayStation 5 may not be backwards compatible beyond PS4, suggests Ubisoft support page

Interesting new details on Ubisoft's support pages regarding PS5 suggest that backwards compatibility may not extend to PS1, PS2, or PS3 games.

TJ Denzer

August 31, 2020 12:31 PM

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In the ongoing lead-up to PlayStation 5’s launch, the question of backwards compatibility has been a looming and cagey question for Sony. PS4 compatibility has been confirmed a few times already, but the matter of earlier PlayStation systems has been far more cloudy. That said, Ubisoft may have inadvertently shined a light on the matter, and it doesn’t look good if you were hoping for PS1, PS2, or PS3 backwards compatibility.

Ubisoft recently posted a new page dedicated to backwards compatibility for PS5 and PS4 on the support pages of the Ubisoft website. While PS4 will be mostly supported, PS1, PS2, and PS3 games will not, at least as far as Ubisoft is concerned.

“Backwards compatibility will be available for supported PlayStation 4 titles, but will not be possible for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, or PlayStation games,” reads the page.

This may very well speak to the case of earlier generation PlayStation games in general for the PS5. Given that Sony already stated that not even all PS4 games would be entirely backwards compatible on the new system at launch, the possibility of earlier generation backwards compatibility has looked increasingly grim.

PlayStation has always been pretty spotty about backwards compatibility. On the PS4, the PlayStation Now livestreaming game service has long been the only way to play PS3 and PS2 games on the system. This is in vast contrast to the Xbox where backwards compatibility has been an increasingly enhanced feature as time has gone on. It seems like that’s going to continue to be the case on the Xbox Series.

The PlayStation 5 is still looking enticing for a number of reasons. That said, with curious decisions like controller design on the DualSense and a raffle to allow pre-orders, the dim outlook on backwards compatibility is just another thing to slightly dull the sheen.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.