Can PS4 games be played on PS5?

Whether you still have a collection of old games or are wondering how to re-download and play them on your new PS5, the following article will give you the answer.

Can PS4 games be played on PS5?

If you're wondering whether the PS5 is backwards compatible, the short answer is yes. In most cases, you can play most old PS4 games on PS5. Some are even offering free or discounted upgrades to the PS5 version to make your PS4 games better than ever.

However, there are some PS4 games that will not work on PS5. The selection of unplayable games will pale in comparison to the list of cross-gen games, so the chances of a PS4 game not working on your PS5 are slim.

An example of why this might be the case is if you buy a PS3 game and then upgrade it to the PS4 version. These PS4 games won't work on PS5 because you still need the PS3 disc to play them. While PS4 discs work on PS5, PS3 discs do not.

How to play PS4 games on PS5?

There are several ways to play PS4 games on your PS5. The first is by inserting and installing a PS4 game disc into your PS5, and the second is by re-downloading your previously purchased digital PS4 titles.

1. Play PS4 games on PS5 using the drive

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Using a disc drive is the simplest and easiest way to play PS4 games on PS5, but it has a downside. This method will only work if your PS5 has a disc drive.

The PS5 digital edition doesn't come with a disc drive, so consider your PS4 library when deciding which PS5 edition to buy. If you choose the digital PS5, which is cheaper and has a large collection of physical PS4 games, you won't be able to play them on your new console.

To play physical PS4 games on PS5, select the game you want and insert it into PS5. Once the PS5 finishes reading the disc, it will begin copying data to the console for you.

If you see a red icon pop up below the game name, you probably don't have enough space on your console for the game.

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Select View Details to display a list of all the games on your console and select the games you are about to delete. Press Delete on the right to delete those games and make space for your PS4 titles.

Once you have enough space, data will continue to copy to PS5.

2. Download PS4 games to PS5

If you want to save space on your shelf and opt for digital versions of games, you can have a large library of digital PS4 titles from before upgrading to PS5. These games can be downloaded and played on your new console.

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The first step is to make sure you're signed in to the same PS Account you used to purchase your digital PS4 titles. All digital games you purchase are linked to the PS Account you used to purchase them.

If you're not logged in, there's no way to prove that those games actually belong to you. To log in to your PS Account on your PS5, create a new user and log in to your PS Account while setting up that account.

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Go to your Games Library by scrolling to the right on the home screen and navigating to Your Collection . This is where you'll find all the digital titles you've purchased through your PS Account.

Go to Sort By icon on the left, select Platform > PS4. That will allow you to separate all the PS4 games in your collection. Scroll through the titles until you find the PS4 game you want and select it to redownload to your new console.

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In addition to saving PS5 games to the console's internal memory, you can also store and play PS4 games on PS5 from an external hard drive.

Kareem Winters

Update 28 March 2024