Hold up! After the rumors about the PS5's backwards compatibility to all previous consoles, Ubisoft is now leaking some shocking news. And this statement might be a bitter pill for fans to swallow.
For those who hoped to play all their PS1, PS2 and PS3 games on Sony's next-gen console will be disappointed. According to the latest statement from Ubisoft's support, there will be no PS5 Backwards compatibility.
Update from September 18
Jim Ryan of Sony has spoken out on the subject of PlayStation 5 backward compatibility and confirmed that the next-generation console will be able to play "99 percent of all PS4 titles". In an interview with the Japanese Famitsu, Ryan also confirmed that the console will not be able to play PS1, PS2, and PS3 titles.
Sony would have considered such a possibility, but it would simply not have been possible:
[...] Unfortunately, we were unable to achieve the implementation of such compatibility.
Now we have the (unfortunately negative) confirmation: The PlayStation 5, due out on November 19, will only be backward compatible with the PS4.
Sony had announced that the next-gen console PlayStation 5 can play "most" PS4 games. Recently there was also talk that the PS5 would have backwards compatibility. That means titles from older console generations would also be playable - if only via streaming?
Publisher Ubisoft is now pouring oil on the fire with details about their titles (Assassin's Creed: Valhalla or Watch Dogs: Legion) on their own support website that revealed the leak.
But the reference that follows, has since been deleted from Ubisoft's website. But of course in the information age nothing is ever deleted! The tweeted screenshot below clearly says that PS3 and PS3 and PS1 games are not backwards compatible.
PS5 is not backwards compatible with PS3/PS2/PS1 games, according to a Ubisoft supprot page https://t.co/j1wTcAApZ3 pic.twitter.com/hnbpndATPi
— Wario64 (@Wario64) August 31, 2020
No PlayStation Classics on the PS5?
With less than two months to go before the expected PlayStation 5 release, this leaked statement by Ubisoft raises many questions. The fact that Ubisoft has already removed the evidence really makes this seem like a smoking gun. Like in all good conspiracies, nothing has been confirmed or denied by Sony or Ubisoft.
Does Ubisoft know more? Did they anticipate the official announcement from Sony? If this is true, it would be a major setback for PlayStation fans, especially considering that Microsoft wants to make all games from all their consoles compatible with the upcoming Xbox Series X.
Read more about gaming and esports on EarlyGame. We'll keep you posted on anymore PS5 leaks and watch how Ratchet & Clank demonstrate next-gen gaming power.