The PlayStation5 Always Up-to-Date FAQ
By: Kostas Farkonas
Tags: Gaming, PlayStation, Playstation 5, FAQ, Videogames

Well, this is it. After more than 18 months of waiting — beginning with a Mark Cerny WIRED interview in April 2019 — the PlayStation5 is less than two weeks away from consumers’ hands. It’s the successor to the most successful home entertainment system of the current generation and, needless to say, expectations are high.

The PS5 is a fairly advanced tech product, though, so certain aspects of its operation do need explaining. It also offers new functionality the PlayStation crowd is not familiar with. Moreover, the transition from the current PlayStation to the next one may prove to be the smoothest ever in Sony’s history, but the use of PS4 games on the PS5 comes with certain caveats. So… yeah, lots of questions.

Enter the Road to NextGen 2020 PlayStation5 FAQ. This is where all of the important questions regarding Sony’s new system will be gathered, grouped and answered over the next few days and weeks leading to its launch, as well as after the launch period and well into 2021. This guide’s purpose is to become the most complete FAQ of this kind for the PS5, eventually offering answers to anything and everything consumers would like to know about the new PlayStation.

This FAQ consists of the following sections — feel free to jump directly to any one of them if you’re looking for specific information about the PS5:

PlayStation5: the basics

PlayStation5: the hardware

PlayStation5: the software

PlayStation5: compatibility with PS4

PlayStation5: media consumption

People having questions regarding the PlayStation5 that have not been answered in the following sections can always post them in the comments or drop Road to NextGen 2020 a line at any time: we will do our best to answer them and possibly include them in the FAQ for everyone’s benefit.

Version 1.0 (Latest update: 01/11/2020)

Despite all the press photos that promote its placement in a vertical orientation, well, let’s be realistic: this is how most of us will be using the PS5 (Image credit: Sony)

PlayStation5: the basics

When will the PS5 be available and at what cost?

The new PlayStation will be out on Thursday, November 12 in North America, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea and on Thursday, November 19 in Europe, Middle East, South America, Asia and South Africa. The PS5 will cost $499/€499 and the PS5 Digital Edition will cost $399/€399.

What’s the difference between the two PS5 models?

Just the UltraHD Blu-ray drive: the PS5 Digital Edition does not have one so it cannot use any kind of optical media, relying on the PlayStation Store and Internet services for games and other entertainment content instead. The two systems are otherwise identical.

What is the available game selection I can expect on launch day?

There will be around 40 games available for the PS5 on November 19, including a few exclusives, some remakes, a few more that are console-exclusive (also out on PC or another format) and many more that will also be out on PS4 and other formats. Highlights include Spider-man: Miles Morales, Demon’s Souls, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Godfall, Dirt 5, Watch Dogs Legion, NBA 2K21 and Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War.

Sony offers a decent range of peripherals and accessories for the PlayStation5 at launch, others will surely follow it time (Image credit: Sony)

Which peripherals will be available on launch day?

The following: DualSense controller, Pulse 3D Wireless Headset, HD Camera, Media Remote and DualSense Charging Station.

What’s the cost of PS5 games going to be?

It all depends right now. Some publishers (like Ubisoft) have chosen to stick to $59.99/€69.99 for the time being, some others — like Take2, Sony and Activision — have raised the RRP of their titles to $69.99/€79.99. Even then, there will be a few titles that cost less than the current RRP but, going forward, it looks like that $69.99/€79.99 will be established as the “new AAA” price point (for both physical and digital copies of the games).

What’s this PlayStation Plus Collection I hear about?

It’s a selection of 20 PlayStation4 hand-picked games that PlayStation Plus subscribers can download and play on their shiny new PS5 whenever they want starting from November 12 or 19. It’s a good combination of true PS4 classics, such as God of War, Bloodborne and Uncharted 4, with extremely popular third party offerings such as Battlefield 1, Monster Hunter World and Resident Evil 7.

The motherboard of the PS5 as shown in the official teardown video (Image credit: Sony)

PlayStation5: the hardware

What are the general tech specs of the PS5?

It’s based on AMD architecture: a Zen2 8-core processor clocked at 3.5 GHz, a 36-compute unit graphics subsystem clocked at 2.23 GHz, 16GB of unified GDDR6 memory, 825GB of storage on a custom high-speed SSD disk and an UltraHD Blu-ray drive (depending on the PS5 version).

What new features does the PS5 offer?

Incorporating an HDMI 2.1 port the PS5 offers 4K display support (up to 120 Hz), 8K display support (up to 60 Hz), as well as variable refresh rate support (much smoother motion on compatible TVs). It also offers true 3D audio (not just positional or object-based but also interactive) as well as USB 3 connectivity (through both USB-A and USB-C ports).

I see the PS5 controller is different. What more does that offer?

A number of things, but here are the most important ones: haptic feedback (a bit like rumble but way more detailed and varied), adaptive triggers (many different levels of pressure recognized), built-in microphone and speaker (so one can chat without a headset — those are still supported via a 3.5mm jack), bigger battery and a USB-C port for charging.

This is the slot PS5 owners will be using in order to extend its storage capability, once Sony certifies specific SSD NVME PCIe 4.0 models (Image credit: Sony)

Can I upgrade the storage space available on the PS5?

Yes, you can: there is a slot made for that purpose — its use will not valid the product’s warranty — that can host any NVME PCIe 4.0 SSD disk sold for PC use. The only restriction: that SSD disk has to match or exceed the read and write speed of the internal PS5 SSD (5.5GB/sec), so specific models will be certified by Sony at first. Over time there will be a wide selection of different compatible models to choose from.

What kind of networking options does Sony’s new system offer?

The PS5 can be wirelessly networked via Wi-Fi 6 (it works with older Wi-Fi versions too of course) or via an Ethernet wired connection (its port supports speeds of 10/100/1000 Mbps).

Will there be different colors for the PS5 case and controller?

Yes. The two “shell” pieces of the PS5’s case can be removed and re-attached easily so we fully expect Sony and others to offer different colors of these, altering the look of the product (a company called PlateStation already offers several different sets of custom faceplates). DualSense controllers to match those will surely appear in time.

Spider-man: Miles Morales is among the first PS5 games that also offer the option of free upgrading from the PS4 version at any time (Image credit: Sony)

PlayStation5: the software

Can I play PS5 games from an external hard drive if I run out of space on the internal SSD disk?

Νο. Games made specifically for the PS5 can only be played through its internal SSD or an SSD installed in its PCIe expansion slot (an SSD which will match or exceed the speed of the internal SSD that is). A USB3 hard drive cannot offer the necessary read and write speed for PS5 games to work directly off that.

Can I backup PS5 games onto an external hard drive to save SSD space?

We do not know yet. We assume so… but until we have confirmed it via testing (or until Sony themselves officially state so) we cannot be certain. It would surely be nice — even nicer if we could backup PS5 games in the same external hard drive we keep our PS4 games, so as to not keep two separate HDDs for the PS5 alone.

How does the free upgrade path from PS4 games work on PS5?

It works in the simplest way possible… in theory: if a player owns the PS4 version of a new game and the publisher of that game offers the free upgrade path option, then when the player migrates to PS5 in the future he/she can download the PS5 version of that game at no additional cost. Not all publishers are on board with this, while a few others do offer the free upgrade option but impose certain restrictions on the player (such as a timeframe within which they have to upgrade). Everyone’s hoping that Sony will get all major publishers to offer that path sooner or later, especially after 2021.

What does the Create button on the DualSense controller do in PS5 games?

Sony has been pretty tight-lipped about this subject for a long time so it’s fair to assume that there’s some interesting information still to be unveiled regarding the Create button. On a basic level, it will probably be a more versatile version of the Share button on the DualShock4 controller, capturing screenshots and video, posting on select social media etc. But the term “Create” is intriguing: could it be that Sony has cooked up something truly imaginative and novel for this button to do?

Will Sony offer two free PS5 games per month to PlayStation Plus subscribers as they did with the PS4?

That would be the logical thing to do, but we simply don’t know for sure yet. As far as November is concerned Sony offers just one PS5 game (Bugsnax) and two PS4 games that are backward compatible with the PS5. We’ll have to see what happens in the months that follow.

Almost all AAA PS4 games, like Ghost of Tsushima, are expected to work flawlessly with the PS5 or even take advantage of its superior hardware (Image credit: Sony)

PlayStation5: compatibility with PS4

Which PS4 games can I play on the PS5?

Almost all 4000+ of them. Sony’s testing has revealed only 10 PS4 games that will not work with PS5 — none of them essential or extremely popular — and future updates to those games could very well cross even those from the (very short) incompatibility list.

Does the PS5 improve PS4 games in any way?

It seems to be a per-case situation. All PS4 games will probably benefit from the faster SSD. Many PS4 games (especially those that were Boost-Mode aware on the PS4 Pro) will be able to offer higher display resolutions and/or higher framerates. But — as of 01/11/2020 — there did not seem to be a system-level, automatic way to improve all PS4 games without their developers offering some kind of update.

Will all my PS4 save games work on the PS5?

It’s unclear at the moment. Some publishers reassure gamers that the PS4 game saves for their titles will work on the PS5, whereas others confirm that the game saves for theirs won’t. So it seems to be a developer decision (and a matter of resources perhaps?).

Simple external hard drives like this one are more than enough to run PS4 games on the PS5 as long as they offer USB3.0 transfer speeds (Image credit: Seagate)

Can I run PS4 games installed on an external drive on PS5?

Yes. It can either be a hard drive or an SSD drive — as long as it uses the USB 3.0 interface, it’s all good. It’s actually preferable to play PS4 games on the PS5 that way as it saves valuable storage space on the internal SSD of the system.

Will my PlayStation VR and PS VR games work with the PS5?

Yes, it will and yes, they will (just 2 titles will not — they are among the 10 mentioned earlier). The PlayStation Camera will need a simple adapter in order to work with the PS5 but Sony stated that they offer one for free.

Will my PS4 peripherals work with the PS5?

The vast majority of them will: Sony-made controllers, third party-made controllers Sony approved, headsets, fightsticks, racing wheels, they will all work as they did on PS4. One caveat: PS4 controllers will only work with PS4 games on the PS5, not with PS5 games. PS4 games can be played with the PS5 controller normally.

The PS5 will support most of the important entertainment streaming services at launch, more will follow in time (Image credit: Disney)

PlayStation5: media consumption

Which kinds of optical discs can the PlayStation5 use?

Apart from game discs, the PS5’s optical disc drive can use UltraHD Blu-ray, Blu-ray and DVD discs for watching movies, TV series or documentaries. It cannot use audio CDs, Super Audio CDs or DVD Audio discs for music.