PlayStation 5 To Support PS4 Controllers But Only For PS4 Games

Sony’s PlayStation 4 DualShock controllers will work with the PlayStation 5. Unfortunately, they won’t work with PS5 games.

In a statement confirming the company’s plans, Sony said that “ We believe that PS5 games should take advantage of the new capabilities and features we’re bringing to the platform, including the features of DualSense wireless controller.”

The Verge reports that existing DualShock 4 controllers and officially licensed third-party PS4 controllers will work with supported PS4 games, says Sony. However, don’t expect those controllers to work with PlayStation 5 titles like “Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales” or “Resident Evil Village.”

Sony doesn’t list its supported games, but the company does confirm that officially licensed racing wheels, arcade sticks, and flight sticks will work with PS5 games and supported PS4 games. Sony’s existing PS Move Motion Controllers and the PlayStation VR Aim Controller will also work with supported PS VR games on the PS5.

With its adaptive triggers, integrated microphone, and new haptic feedback technology, Sony has already invested a lot in the DualSense controllers for the PlayStation 5. This shouldn’t come as a surprise then that even though they allow some wiggle room, Sony would much rather push the purchase of its new controller rather than the retention of its DualShock ones.

This is similar to what Sony previously did when the controllers for the PlayStation 3 didn’t work for the PlayStation 4, The Verge notes. Although Microsoft’s Xbox 360 controllers didn’t work for the Xbox One, the company has said that it is committed to supporting Xbox One controllers for the upcoming Xbox Series X.

Then again, since Microsoft only made minor changes to the Xbox Series X controller, it gives Microsoft more leeway to allow existing hardware to work with future games on their next-gen console. This is in stark contrast to what Sony has done, basically designing the DualSense from the ground up.

By allowing backwards compatibility for the PS5, Sony is already doing something different from what it previously did with the PS4. By the time the next-gen console is launched this holiday season, thousands of PS4 games will immediately be playable on the PS5 with current DualShock 4 controllers.

To play games like what will be bundled with the console, however, in this case, “Astro’s Playroom,” people are going to have to level up and purchase the DualSense controller with all of its bells and whistles.