Sony issues update on PS5 backward compatibility, 'vast majority' of PS4 games will run

What you need to know

• Earlier this week, Sony revealed the specs of the PlayStation 5.
• Due to the way comments by lead architect Mark Cerny were phrased, confusion ensued over the number of backward compatible PS4 games that would run on PS5.
• Sony has issued an update to provide more context.
• Players can expect the "vast majority" of PS4 games to run on PS5.

Earlier this week, when the specs of the PlayStation 5 (PS5) were revealed, lead architect Mark Cerny mentioned that almost all of the top 100 games on PS4 should be playable on PS5. To say this prompted confusion would be an understatement, with many people (including us) unsure of whether this was intended as an example, with far more than just the top 100 games being available, or if it was intended literally.

Fortunately, Sony has provided an update for the situation on PlayStation Blog, stating that "With all of the amazing games in PS4's catalog, we've devoted significant efforts to enable our fans to play their favorites on PS5. We believe that the overwhelming majority of the 4,000+ PS4 titles will be playable on PS5."

Sony continued by explaining "We're expecting backward compatible titles will run at a boosted frequency on PS5 so that they can benefit from higher or more stable frame rates and potentially higher resolutions. We're currently evaluating games on a title-by-title basis to spot any issues that need adjustment from the original software developers."

While this means you still might not be able to play every single PS4 game, it's a far better situation than just the top 100 games or so. There's no exact window given for when a list of these games can be expected, but Sony does note that more information on PS5 and backward compatibility is coming over the next few months. PS5 is still expected to launch sometime in holiday 2020.