The release of the PS5 is now only months away, and as such, the lifespan of the PS4 is coming to its end. As a result, Sony has released updated requirements for new PS4 games, which specify that all such games must be compatible with the PS5, even before the new console launches.
Sony’s Updated Requirements for New PS4 Releases
The change, which was reportedly added some weeks ago but has yet to go into effect, is an alteration to the developer documentation required to get certification for a new release. This change will officially go into effect in around one month’s time, on the 13th of July. At that point, it will apply to a new version of the PS4 software developer kit and to all new releases from that point which are submitted for certification.
Notably, this means that it doesn’t apply to games which have already been announced for release after the 13th; after all, those games have already gone through the necessary certification process. In all likelihood, this change to the certification probably won’t have a huge impact on development; after all, the gap between the change going into effect and the PS5 launch is likely to be no more than six months or so. There has been some concern that the PS5 release date might suffer a delay due to COVID-19. However, Sony has said that the date should be unchanged.
What this alteration serves to do is to better facilitate the transition to the new console for game developers. Sony has said that it plans to contact developers individually with details for testing games for PS5 compatibility. As such, the transition should be relatively smooth. Notably, the change applies to patches and updates, as well as remasters. Patches for games released before the 13th aren’t required to conform with the change. However, Sony does recommend that they do.