Huge PlayStation 5 leak all but confirms backward compatibility is coming to the console

Just a heads up, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the sale. It’s one of the ways we keep the lights on here. Click here for more.

A deep dive into some leaked tests on the rumored CPU that’ll be powering the PlayStation 5 came up with a pearl of knowledge – the PS5 looks to be backward compatible with both the PS4 and PS4 Pro.

That might not seem like a huge deal, but if true, it’ll be the first time Sony has let their latest console run games from the prior generation natively. Of course, PSNow lets you run older games, but only by streaming them from Sony’s servers.

PlayStation 5 spec leak seems to confirm one of your most wanted features

Image: Eurogamer

See, when looking at the data for the upcoming GPU for the PS5, Digital Foundry found something interesting indeed. The GPU has three different modes, two of which just happen to match the performance details of the base PS4 and PS4 Pro. This points to backward compatibility being a baked-in feature for the PS5, at least for PS4 era games.

While this picture is mostly speculation built on the back of the leaked tests, one thing is clear. The PlayStation 5 is going to be a monster for gaming. Let’s not forget that developers managed to squeeze far more performance out of the existing consoles than they could out of PCs of similar specs.

Will Sony unveil the PS5 at CES 2020 next week? The rumor mill had it down for a February reveal but it could quite easily bring that date forward.

What do you think? Interested in the PlayStation 5? Want to see backward compatibility on it? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

Editors’ Recommendations:

• Here are your free PlayStation Plus games for January 2020
• The last remaining official Nintendo PlayStation hybrid is heading to auction
• KnowTechie’s ten best games from the 90s
• I don’t get it either, but soon you’ll be able to play Stardew Valley in your Tesla

Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience at KnowTechie, SlashGear and XDA Developers. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere, with particular focus in gadgetry and handheld gaming. Shoot him an email at joe@knowtechie.com.