Sony Will Soon Require PS5 Support For PS4 Games - Report

Developers planning to submit PS4 games for certification after July 13 will be forced to ensure that the game also runs on Sony's next-generation console, the PlayStation 5, according to a new report.

The requirement has been added to Sony's internal partner website and its hosted developer documentation, which has been seen by Eurogamer. Games sent to Sony for certification ahead of release after July 13 will need to ensure that they are not only compatible with PS5 hardware, but also support as-of-yet unannounced features of the console's design.

Sony notes in the documentation that it is planning to get in contact with developers soon regarding testing procedures for this classification. Games that are certified for PS5 will also need to remain so, with any patches required to satisfy the same cross-generational hardware specifications. Games released prior to this deadline will not need to conform to this with new patches, but Sony states that it will be "strongly recommended".

It's worth noting that Sony has not detailed its backwards-compatibility plans beyond a mention that PS4 titles were currently undergoing testing for compatibility. Back in March, Mark Cerny explained that backwards-compatible titles will make use of the additional processing power to run at higher resolutions and frame rates, but that any compatibility issues will require the original developers to solve.

This approach seems different to that of Microsoft, who has committed to having all Xbox One titles support backwards-compatibility with the Xbox Series X at launch. This includes Xbox 360 and original Xbox titles that are already playable on the Xbox One. In addition to support, Microsoft is also using system-level enhancements to add features like HDR to titles that launched without it, and without the need from additional work from its developers.

Sony is hosting a PS5 event on June 4 focused on next-gen games--the first notable event for the console since the stream GDC presentation in March.

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