A big element for the next generation of systems seems to be backwards compatibility with the current generation. Now, Eurogamer stated that it has seen developer documentation from Sony that asks developers of upcoming games to check and ensure new PlayStation 4 titles have been tested on PlayStation 5 hardware for backwards compatibility. It confirmed that July 13, 2020 will be the cut-off date for games that aren’t PlayStation 5 compatible. [Thanks, Eurogamer!]
Eurogamer went into further detail about the Internal Partner documentation and what these PlayStation 5 backwards compatibility checks involve. Supposedly, PlayStation 4 Software developer kits began offering an option to conduct these sorts of tests in April 2020 and Sony contacted companies about how to perform tests.
The site also said that starting on July 13, 2020, PlayStation 4 games going forward must be PlayStation 5 compatible. This means games and their updates submitted to Sony ahead of that day don’t have to meet requirements, but ones after would.
Sony has been talking about PlayStation 5 backwards compatibility since 2019. The topic was one of the key points at a talk led by Mark Cerny, the lead system architect, back in March 2020. During that briefing, he noted the new system would be backwards compatible with all 100 top-played PlayStation 4 games at launch. EA has also gone on the record saying it will have free upgrades to its PlayStation 4 games that will be playable on the PlayStation 5.
The PlayStation 5 is on track to release in 2020.
