It doesn't seem that long ago since Sony refused to offer any cross-play on their consoles, closing themselves off from the likes of Xbox and Nintendo. But with the launch of the PS5, does the new console support cross-play with PS4?
In recent years, Sony has since eased its anti-crossplay stance, and PS4 players can now play Warzone, Fortnite, and PUBG with Xbox and PC players. Indeed, the recent Epic vs Apple trial even revealed that Sony receives a revenue cut from Epic as a result of permitting cross-play.
However, as the next-gen of consoles threatens to divide the gaming community even further, those with no intentions of upgrading to the PS5 yet are asking a question. Can we still play with our friends on the PS5?
And you can keep reading for all the hottest PS5 news, especially when it comes to crossplay with PS4...
Does the PS5 support cross-play with the PS4?
Before the PS5 was released, Sony's Jim Ryan emphasised in an interview with CNET, the company's commitment to "cross-generational play" and a seamless transition from the PS4 to PS5.
"It won't be a binary choice about whether you have to be either on PlayStation 4 or next-gen to continue your friendship," stated the CEO.
More recently, Sony released a lengthy FAQ page about the PS5. One of the questions asked in the document is, "If I’m playing a PS4 game, can I play with my friend who is playing the PS5 version of that game, or vice-versa?"
Sony's answer to that question looks like this: "It is possible to play together depending on the game, though support must be provided by the game’s developer."
So yes, there will be cross-play between PS4 and PS5, but game developers will have the power to enable or disable this feature, in their games, as they see fit.
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Which PS5 games have confirmed cross-play?
Destiny 2's developers, Bungie, confirmed in a live stream that their players can upgrade from PS4 to PS5 for no extra costs. They also announced their intentions to support cross-play between the two consoles.
Fortnite, Epic's iconic Battle Royale, is slowly becoming the Skyrim of this generation with the number of platforms it is available on. Epic has already announced its intentions to move the game over to Xbox Series X and PS5 for launch.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War will also support cross-play with PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC and Xbox Series X users, as will Call of Duty: Warzone, the Battle Royale title that may get its own PS5 upgrade in the future.
Aside from these titles, many other titles will also support cross-play of varying degrees, including: MLB The Show 21, Rogue Company, Watch Dogs Legion, Marvel's Avengers, Mortal Kombat 11, PUBG, Wreckfest, Dead by Daylight, DIRT 5, Apex Legends, Among Us, No Man's Sky, Outriders, and Rocket League.
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Does save progression carry over from PS4 to PS5?
Now, this is a tricky one. If you've invested hours into a game, only to discover all your work, loot, and statistics will disappear on the next-gen consoles, you might be less inclined to play those games on the PS5.
When playing PS4 games on the PS5, you can transfer your cloud save data over to the new console pretty easily, but when it comes to PS4 games to the upgraded PS5 version, it's slightly different, as it depends on the developers.
However, this could all change as we go further into the generation, with developers making U-Turns if the backlash from fans is strong enough. Indeed, Insomniac now allows saves from Spider-Man PS4 to carry over onto the PlayStation 5's Remastered version, following criticism from fans.
When it comes to cross-saves between Xbox and PS5, many of these titles such as Fortnite, Call of Duty, Minecraft, No Man's Sky, and Rocket League support cross-save progression. However, the likes of Among Us, Outriders, Apex Legends, PUBG and Borderlands 3 do not.
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