PS5 backward compatibility works, and Sony says so clearly: the vast majority of the 4,000+ PS4 games are playable on PS5. It’s more useful, though, to separate three layers, because each one means something different. The game runs, the game runs better, or there is a separate PS5 version you can switch to. And that third layer is where your money is at stake, along with whether you get to take your progress with you.
What Sony promises on backward compatibility and what it doesn’t
Sony never claims the transition is seamless. Its help page warns directly that some features available on PS4 may be absent on PS5 and that some PS4 games may show errors or unexpected behavior on the new console. It adds a recommendation worth taking literally: launch the game on PS5 and play it first, and only buy add-ons for it once you’re happy with how it runs. You can’t return an expansion for a game that behaves strangely on the new console.
Six games that don’t work on PS5
Sony keeps a specific list of titles marked “PS4 only”. These are exactly the ones on it:
- Afro Samurai 2 Revenge of Kuma Volume One
- Just Deal With It!
- Robinson: The Journey
- We Sing
- Hitman Go: Definitive Edition
- Shadwen
Sony adds that the list may change and that it doesn’t include demos, media and non-gaming apps. In the PS Store you can recognize these games by the “Playable on: PS4 only” label. If you want to know what from the last generation’s library is worth playing through, there is a separate pick of the best PS4 games.
What else won’t run on PS5
Besides the six games, there are limits that concern features rather than titles:
- The PS5 doesn’t support PS3 discs. And if you once got a digital PS4 game through the PS3 disc upgrade program and that disc is needed to launch it, you won’t get it running on PS5. The only route to PS3 classics on PS5 is streaming in PS Plus Premium.
- Some PS4 features are missing. The SHARE menu can’t be shown while playing a PS4 game (screenshots and clips are taken with the create button), the PS4 tournaments feature doesn’t work on PS5, In-Game Live from PlayStation isn’t supported, and neither the PS4 Second Screen app nor game companion apps work.
- First-generation PS VR games are among the compatible ones, but they need a PS VR headset, the PlayStation Camera for PS4 (model CUH-ZEY1 or CUH-ZEY2) and a free camera adapter. The new HD Camera for PS5 isn’t compatible with PS VR. The successor is covered in the article on whether PlayStation VR2 is worth it.
The second layer: Game Boost
Selected PS4 games benefit on PS5 from Game Boost, which according to Sony can give them higher or smoother frame rates. On its blog, Sony adds that selected titles also load faster on the new console and that games with an unlocked frame rate or dynamic resolution may look better. That’s as far as it goes, though: Sony doesn’t publish a list of the games this applies to, and it doesn’t say whether Game Boost can be turned on or off. It only talks about “select PS4 games”, so the only way to be sure is to launch the game.
One setting is worth knowing: HDR is on by default on PS5, and Sony mentions it precisely in the section on backward compatibility limits. You can turn it off in Settings, Screen and Video, Video Output, HDR, by choosing Off. If an older game looks different on your TV than you remember, the details are covered in the article on setting up your PS5 on a TV.
The third layer: upgrading to the PS5 version
The most important part here is what Sony says about price. It states word for word that, depending on the game, an upgrade may come at no additional cost, may require a purchase and may only be available for a limited time, and that it requires an internet connection. So there is no single rule. What Sony does set firmly for upgrades:
- Only some games can be upgraded. The wording is that certain PS4 games can be upgraded to a digital PS5 version.
- PS Plus games don’t get upgrades. PS4 games you got as a subscription benefit aren’t eligible for an upgrade unless Sony decides otherwise for a specific title. How the subscription library works is described in the article on free games in PS Plus.
- A disc upgrade has two hard conditions. A PS5 with a disc drive, and a disc from the same country or region as your account.
For a disc game: sign in to your account on PS5, insert the disc, open the game hub for that game, select the upgrade offer and go through its terms, then choose Download or buy it at the discounted price. With a digital game it works the same way, except you find the PS5 version in the PS Store instead of using a disc. You then switch between versions of the same game in Game Library with the three-dots button: the PS4 version has a PS4 label next to its name, the PS5 version shows just the game’s name.
What works with what
| What you have | Can you play it on PS5? | Can you upgrade it to the PS5 version? |
|---|---|---|
| PS4 game on disc, PS5 with a disc drive | Yes for the vast majority of games, the disc has to stay in the drive | Only for selected games, free or paid depending on the title |
| PS4 game on disc, PS5 Digital Edition | No | No |
| Digitally purchased PS4 game | Yes for the vast majority of games | Only for selected games, works on Digital Edition too |
| PS4 game from PS Plus | Yes | No, unless Sony decides otherwise for a specific game |
| PS3 disc game | No | No |
| One of the six games marked “PS4 only” | No | No |
Based on Sony’s help pages as of 11 September 2026.
The Digital Edition and disc trap
This is where people lose money. PS4 discs can’t be used on the PS5 Digital Edition at all. Not for playing, not for upgrading. So the owner of a console without a disc drive gets nothing out of a shelf of PS4 games, and the only games they can upgrade digitally are the ones they bought digitally. Before you buy, it’s worth going through the comparison of which PS5 edition to buy.
The second trap catches owners of a console with a disc drive too: the disc has to stay in the drive every time you want to launch the game. This applies to playing a PS4 game from disc and to the PS5 version created by upgrading that disc. So a digital game from an upgrade is still tied to a piece of plastic you need to keep at home.
Saved data: two different things that get mixed up
Transferring saved data from a PS4 console to a PS5 console is a system feature. During initial setup you can transfer user and account information, saved data for games playable on PS5, the games themselves and console settings. Later, only the saved data of the currently signed-in user is transferred, via Settings, System, System Software, Data Transfer. The whole process, along with Sony’s warnings about what you must not do during the transfer, is covered in the article on transferring games and data from PS4 to PS5.
Something else entirely is transferring progress from the PS4 version of a game to the PS5 version of the same game. Sony says this is the developer’s decision and that it varies from title to title. It isn’t a system feature and Sony doesn’t guarantee it. The practical consequence: before you upgrade a game you’re partway through, check for that specific title whether your progress carries over. With some games it does, with others you start over.
Digital PS4 games and their data can be transferred to PS5 over Wi-Fi, and PS4 games and data can also be used directly from a compatible USB drive you used on PS4. What fits where on PS5 and what can be launched from where is covered in the article on how to free up space on PS5.
Controllers and peripherals
For PS4 games on PS5, DualSense, DUALSHOCK 4 and officially licensed third-party gamepads all work. PS5 games, on the other hand, can only be played with DualSense, so keep the old controller for older titles, not as a second gamepad for new games. The differences between models are compared in the article on which PS5 controller to choose. Licensed racing wheels, arcade sticks and flight sticks work with PS5 games and with supported PS4 games; what to watch out for when choosing one is covered in the article on how to choose and connect a racing wheel on PS5.
FAQ
Yes, according to Sony the vast majority of the 4,000+ PS4 games are playable on PS5. The exceptions are six titles marked “PS4 only” and PS3 disc games, which the console doesn’t support. Sony also points out that some PS4 features are missing on the new console.
It depends on the game. Sony explicitly states that an upgrade may come at no additional cost, may require a purchase and may only be available for a limited time. There is no single rule, so you have to check the specific title in its game hub.
Not guaranteed. Sony says transferring saves between the PS4 and PS5 versions of the same game is the developer’s decision and varies from title to title. It isn’t a system feature. Transferring saved data from a PS4 console to a PS5 console is a different thing, and that works.
No. Sony states that PS4 discs can’t be used with the PS5 Digital Edition, and without a disc drive a disc upgrade to the PS5 version isn’t possible either. On a console without a disc drive, only digitally purchased PS4 games can be upgraded.
For selected titles, yes, thanks to Game Boost. Sony talks about higher or smoother frame rates and, on its blog, faster loading too. It doesn’t publish a list of the games this applies to, though, so the only way to be sure is to try it yourself.
Sony says it changes the list of incompatible games from time to time, so check it in Sony’s help pages before you buy an older game. More articles about consoles and games are in the PlayStation section on Gamers Together. Information verified as of 9 August 2026.