Upcoming PlayStation 4 games have been optimized for the current-gen console system and might have made use of all its capacity. A new report has recently revealed that these upcoming games must also run on PlayStation 5 starting on July.
The directive came from Sony Interactive Entertainment itself and told this to all of the developers who have games for the PS4. They specifically asked the developers that if they submit any new titles for certification, it must also be compatible with the PS5 starting July 13.
What this means is that all of those PS4 games that will be submitted to Sony for testing after the middle of the month will be playable on the next-gen console. This is still up to the game’s developer to ensure this is the case.
According to game publication Eurogamer, the developer documentation gave details on an option for developers that they must check to state their game has been tested for compatibility with the PS5 hardware. This was actually added at the end of April in a new version of SIE’s PS4 software developer kit.
The developers will be contacted by SIE individually with the details on how they can test the PS5 compatibility. It also details what compatibility really means for the next-gen console and the upcoming PS4 games. They can be compatible with the PS5 only if its submission code runs without any issues on it and will provide the same features on it as it does on PS4.
The documentation shows the rules for patches to existing games and remasters of previously-released titles. Games originally submitted to Sony before July 13 2020 and will have a new patch or remaster after that date will not require the PS5 compatibility, but SIE strongly recommends doing that.
Games that were originally submitted to Sony after July 13 with a future patch or remaster to that game will need to keep PS5 compatibility. When it is compatible, it must stay as is.
The documentation notes that all of these rules will apply to games submitted to Sony after July 13, which is not the same as anything released after that date. Developers generally make submissions in advance of its launch date to make sure that SIE’s certification team can approve the game in time.
While the approved PS4 game will be compatible with the PS5 console system, SIE has not yet given any specific details on how to accomplish that. PlayStation is making sure that these games will work on the next-generation console, but they would pass the issues that need adjustment to the developers to handle. This means they will have to work hand in hand to make this all work.
Source: Eurogamer
