How to play PS4 games on PS5? Steps, controller support, and more

Older PS4 games are playable on the PlayStation 5 since it was launched with support for backward compatibility. This allows gamers to play titles launched on earlier consoles without buying those machines. Most titles released on the last-gen PS4 are supported on the latest gaming machine, allowing players to upgrade without thinking twice about losing their entire video game library.

The last-gen PlayStation 4 did not support backward compatibility. Thus, older PS3 titles weren't available on the eighth-gen console; only titles specifically re-released on the console, like The Last of Us, were playable.

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Playing PS4 game discs on the PS5

The most important part of PS5 backward compatibility is support for PlayStation 4 discs. All supported games also added support for their discs on the new console. You can take a disc released for the last-gen console, simply plug it into the PS5 console, and you're good to go.

Do note, however, that those with the $400 PS5 Digitial Edition cannot play older games released on the PlayStation 4 console. Only the more expensive disc edition supports last-gen titles.

In case you have a bunch of PS4 DVDs, get the $500 version of the PS5 to use them. Otherwise, if you are more of a digital player, your games will work on both versions of the PlayStation. Read on to find out how to transfer digital edition games to the new console.

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Playing digital PS4 games in PS5

Digital games bought on the PlayStation 4 are also playable on the PS5. Support for digital titles on the new console is robust. If you have digital games downloaded and installed on an external USB drive, you can plug it into the PS5, log into the same PlayStation account, and start playing.

Games downloaded and installed on the PlayStation 4 can be transferred to the PS5 and streamed over WiFi. Boot up the consoles, connect them to the same network, and download it from the PlayStation 5. This will start a transfer over the network, which is much faster than downloading it over again.

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PS4 games that can't be played on the PS5

Do note that certain games released on the PlayStation 4 aren't compatible with the PS5. The detailed and updated list of the titles not playable via backward compatibility is as follows:

• Afro Samurai 2 Revenge of Kuma Volume One
• Just Deal With It!
• Robinson: The Journey
• We Sing
• Hitman Go: Definitive Edition
• Shadwen

Over 4,000 games released on the PlayStation 4 are supported on the new PlayStation 5. The overall support is robust, and gamers with a library on the last-gen console can start playing right away without major hiccups.