PlayStation 5 lack of backwards compatibility seemingly confirmed by Ubisoft

Gamers have stayed loyal to PlayStation consoles for over 25 years, but those who expected that to be rewarded are likely to be disappointed.

Less than a week after opening pre-orders to loyal PlayStation fans it appears those with long histories on the platform who looked forward to playing their old games on the new console will be disappointed.

PlayStation has previously offered “backwards compatibility” on new consoles that allows you to play games you might have already owned on an old one.

Shortly after the PS3 launched the capability to play PS2 and PSone games was removed to cut costs.

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The PS5 is expected to go on sale before the end of the year.

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The PS4 didn’t have backwards compatibility, thought to be due to the change to x86 processor architecture like the kind used in desktop computers that made it too hard to emulate the old consoles.

That same architecture is retained in the PS5.

In March, Sony said the PS5 would have a “legacy mode” capable of playing PS4 games.

Console architect Mark Cerny indicated “almost all” of the top 100 most popular PS4 titles would be able to take advantage of that mode.

A few days later Sony senior vice-president Hideaki Nishino went further and said “the overwhelming majority of the 4,000+ PS4 titles will be playable on PS5” and that the company is “currently evaluating games on a title-by-title basis to spot any issues that need adjustment from the original software developers”.

The PS2 was the most popular console of all-time but you better still have one if you want to play any of its games.

But those who planned to play older titles from PS3, PS2 or even earlier will be disappointed by a detail that appears to have been accidentally revealed by a popular publisher.

Ubisoft’s FAQ page recently added and then removed a brief note on backwards compatibility.

Ubisoft has shared Sony's PlayStation 5 will not feature backwards compatibility for PS1, PS2 and PS3 titles from a recent FAQ page.

We won't be playing GTA IV, May Payne or the first Red Dead Redemption on PlayStation 5 for another generation, I'm afraid. pic.twitter.com/469w9m5P8I

— VideoTech (@VideoTech_) August 31, 2020

“PlayStation 4 players will be able to join multiplayer games with PlayStation 5 players. Backwards compatibility will be available for supported PlayStation 4 titles, but will not be possible for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, or PlayStation games,” the FAQ noted.

Local representatives for PlayStation have been contacted for comment and clarification.