PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan confirmed the PS5 is backwards compatible with '99%' of PS4 games Sony tested and that new games will still land on PS4 for at least three to four years.
In an interview with The Washington Post, Ryan stated that Sony tested "thousands" of PS4 games to see if they were backwards compatible with the PS5 and "99%" worked. Here's what that actually means.
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PS5 backwards compatibility
If "thousands" means at least 2,000 games, then at least 20 games won't be backwards compatible with the PS5, which should please games, all things considered. However, it's unclear if Sony will actually work to make these mysterious games compatible or if they won't get ported over at all.
Additionally, Ryan talked about the PS4's longevity, and how the cross-gen transition will go.
“The PS4 community will continue to be incredibly important to us for three or four years,” Ryan said. “Many will transition to PS5, we hope if we do our job well, but tens of millions will still be engaged with the PS4.”
This is oddly consumer-friendly, but how will Sony cater to its community? Ryan says games like Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Horizon: Forbidden West and Sackboy: A Big Adventure will also launch on the PS4 as well as the PS5.