A number of PlayStation 4 titles will receive a free, and in some cases paid, upgrade on PlayStation 5. This includes games that are presently available on current-gen platforms and those that won’t arrive until next-gen kicks off. Since Sony has been so cagey about the specifics, you’d think the upgrade path would be difficult. For the most part, it seems rather simple, however.
According to a PlayStation Support posting, the upgrade process will differ between PS5’s disc version and Digital Edition. There does exist one constant, though–upgrades require all PS5 owners to connect to the internet. For the disc-based console, the instructions are as follows,
- Sign in to your existing account on your PS5 console (or create an account).
- Insert the eligible PS4 game disc.
- Go to the game hub for the PS4 game.
- Select the upgrade offer on the game hub and review the upgrade offer.
- Select Download (or purchase with the discount price) to download/purchase content.
- After the download is complete, you can play the PS5 digital game by inserting the PS4 game disc. You will need to keep the disc inserted each time to play the game.
Upgrading eligible PS4 games on PS5 Digital Edition demands somewhat of a different process. (PS4 game discs won’t work with the new console’s disc-less SKU.)
- Sign in to your existing account on your PS5 console.
- Find the PS5 game in PlayStation Store, or by Search, and go to the game hub for the PS5 game.
- Select the upgrade offer on the game hub and review the upgrade offer.
- Select Download (or purchase with the discount price) to download/purchase content.
- After the download is complete, you can play the PS5 game.
Remember that these instructions will only apply to certain games that offer PS5 upgrade paths from the PS4 version, and that upgrade path is going to be different depending on the game and the publisher. Not every PS4 game will have a PS5 upgrade, and not every PS5 upgrade will be free.
In addition to detailing the PS4 to PS5 upgrade process, Sony released information regarding backward compatibility. While there are still some questions in need of answers, things certainly seem much clearer now. This same update also confirmed that of the 4,000+ PS4 titles, only 10 won’t make the leap to next-gen via backward compatibility, though Sony does warn of potential unforeseen issues in the rest of the games.
The PlayStation 5 launches in the United States, Japan, Australia, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, and South Korea on November 12th. It lands in Europe, the Middle East, South America, Asia, and South Africa on November 19th.
[Source: PlayStation Support]
