New PSVR For PS5: Sony Shares Details About Next-Generation VR Headset

Sony released the PlayStation VR headset four years ago. Since the launch of PS5 in November, tech industry analysts have been speculating that the virtual reality headset will receive an update soon. Now the company has confirmed that a next-generation model is currently in development.

Ahead of Sony's State of Play presentation Thursday, Hideaki Nishino, senior vice-president for platform planning and management, posted a surprise announcement on the official PlayStation Blog. He noted how the PSVR became "a transformative new way to play games on PS4, providing a much stronger sense of presence and deeper immersion to players compared with traditional games."

One of the defining features of the PS5 is its backward compatibility, which supports almost the entire PS4 library of games. Sony's support page regarding the functionality indicated that PlayStation VR games and hardware will work on PS5.

But it came with a few caveats. The first-generation PSVR headset was not compatible with the PS5 HD Camera and DualSense.

Nishino, in his post, said, "I'm pleased to share that our next-generation VR system will be coming to PlayStation 5, enabling the ultimate entertainment experience with dramatic leaps in performance and interactivity."

Sony's engineers have apparently revamped how users connect the new headset to the console. One of the major issues gamers had with the original model was the complex setup process that involved several cables. In contrast, the upcoming device will rely on "a single cord" to interface with the games.

It will take advantage of the PS5's processing power to output higher resolutions and a better field of view for the user. Tracking and input will also see improvements, according to Sony. It will have a dedicated VR controller that borrows some of the "key features found in the DualSense wireless controller."

Nishino said the new PSVR will not launch in 2021 but assured consumers that Sony will continue to release VR content for its platforms.

The popularity of the PS5 is at an all-time high as restocks sell out almost immediately.