Sony may be working to bring proper PlayStation 3 backward compatibility to PlayStation 5, although only for select titles, according to rumors circulating online.
Speaking during the latest episode of the XboxEra podcast, Shpeshal Nick revealed that he’s heard that Sony is working on bringing backward compatibility for select PlayStation 3 titles on the current-generation consoles. The compatible titles will apparently also be sold individually, similarly to what Microsoft did with Xbox backward compatibility. Unfortunately, it is not yet known if the PS3 games compatible with PlayStation 5 will receive performance or visual improvements. It’s also unknown which games would be selected to be playable on PlayStation 5, although Nick speculates it could be mostly first-party titles, which would make sense.
Proper PlayStation 3 backward compatibility for PlayStation 5 would be huge, as right now, PlayStation 3 titles are only playable on the console via cloud streaming, which doesn’t always deliver the best possible experience. The fact that titles would be available for purchase individually would be big as well, allowing users to enjoy them without requiring the PlayStation Plus Premium subscription that is now needed to access PS3 games via cloud streaming. As it always is with rumors, however, we must take everything with a grain of salt until Sony makes an official announcement.
