PS5 listing shows backward compatibility for PS2, PS3, and PS4 — don't get too excited

PS5
(Image credit: Sony)

Both the PS5 and the Xbox Series X will offer some degree of backward compatibility when they launch later this year, but based on everything we have seen to date it seemed like the Xbox Series X was the backward compatibility champ of this generation.

However, a recent listing on a popular Turkish retailer, Hepsiburada, called that into question with an official-looking PS5 listing that indicated that "all games on PlayStation 2, 3 and 4 can be played on PS5" (via Notebookcheck).

This would be a dream scenario for PlayStation fans with thousands of popular games in the back catalog across those console generations, but we are here to burst this bubble. 

First, let's consider the source, much like Amazon this retailer allows for both 1st and 3rd-party sellers, so listings have to be taken with a grain of salt. The listing in question has since been altered to remove the section regarding backward compatibility, but a user on NeoGAF captured the translated version while it was still available.

(Image credit: CurtBizzy/NeoGAF)

Second, Sony has been clear, if not comprehensive in its description of backward compatibility on the PS5 and what they have said is that most of the top 100 games from the PS4 will be supported on the PS5. This is a far cry (a series of games that probably will be supported) from even all of the games on the most recent console, let alone covering all of the games from three generations of consoles. 

From both a licensing and a developer standpoint, the extent of that claim makes the entire listing seem suspect and given the simple language in play there, a translation error seems unlikely as well. Even Microsoft, who is hitting the backward compatibility messaging hard with the plan to have the Xbox Series X enhance many old titles isn't suggesting that its support will be anywhere near this broad.

We would expect this to be a subject at one of Sony's apparently numerous events planned for this summer and perhaps there will be good news for those that want to see support for older PlayStation games, just don't get your hopes up that it will be anything close to total support for the entire back catalog.

Sean Riley

Sean Riley has been covering tech professionally for over a decade now. Most of that time was as a freelancer covering varied topics including phones, wearables, tablets, smart home devices, laptops, AR, VR, mobile payments, fintech, and more.  Sean is the resident mobile expert at Laptop Mag, specializing in phones and wearables, you'll find plenty of news, reviews, how-to, and opinion pieces on these subjects from him here. But Laptop Mag has also proven a perfect fit for that broad range of interests with reviews and news on the latest laptops, VR games, and computer accessories along with coverage on everything from NFTs to cybersecurity and more.