Can PS4 players Play with PS5 Players?

 

The backward compatibility feature introduced on the PS5 has come with a significant degree of confusion. The slight differences between PS4 and PS5 ports of some games have further increased the confusion. In today's article, I attempt to offer an in-depth explanation of who can play with whom and on which version of the titles in question. Hopefully, this piece will shed some light on cross-generation games, and how backward compatibility is implemented as per online play.

Cross-play Games

Cross-play games allow individuals to team up on different systems. For example, a game like Fortnite allows individuals playing on PC to team up with individuals playing on Playstation. For cross-play games, PS4 players can indeed play with PS5 players as long as both are using an updated version of the game. It is important to note that as soon as publishers update their games to take more advantage of the next-generation hardware, this cross-generational cross-play feature will be effectively scrapped.

Games on the Same Generation but Different Consoles

Since the PS5 is backward compatible, I can effectively play a last-generation (PS4 ) game. Let's say I want to team up with my friend and play some good old-fashioned PUBG. My friend, however, is on the PS4 while I am on next-gen. How will we approach this? Since PUBG is on PS4, my friend will download it and run it natively while I will download it and run it via backward compatibility. In hindsight, we are playing the exact same game on different hardware. In general, since the PS5 is backward compatible, a PS5 user can play almost all multiplayer games with a PS4 user as long as both own valid licenses for the game.

SharePlay

Share play allows individuals to play together even if one person doesn't have a copy of the game. PS5 to PS4 share play is very possible. Although the game should be on the PlayStation Store for both parties. A typical session lasts about 60 minutes after which the host player needs to restart the session. In general, PS4 players and PS5 players can play together via Share Play.