You’ve left them all behind.
When a new console generation arrives, you say farewell to friends, auf wiedersehen to online acquaintances, and au revoir to your enemies.
Why?
Because the jump to next-gen consoles is weighted down by a cost:
Next-gen gamers can’t play online with previous generation gamers.
Or have things Changed?
With all the crossplay shenanigans between PC, PlayStation, and Xbox, there’s a glimmer of hope that, for the first time, early adopters like you and I could step up to the Playstation 5 while still playing online with PS4 players.
Fueled by this hope, I slid in front of my computer eager to discover an answer.
This is what I found:
Can PS5 players play with ps4 players online? Yes, PS5 players can play online with PS4 players. Players gaming online with a PS4 game on the PS5 can play with players gaming on PS4 with the same game. Additionally, next-gen versions of games such as the PS5 versions of Fortnight can also be played with players playing the PS4 version.
Now you know PS5 players can play with PS4 players online, let’s take a closer look at that answer and explore some more questions surrounding cross-gen online play.
Can PS5 games play online with PS4 players?
PS5 players can play online with PS4 players.
However, it’s worth keeping in mind that there are 2 types of cross-generational play. They are:
- PS5 console playing a PS4 game with PS4 console playing a PS4 game
- Example: A PlayStation 5 plays the PS4 version of Call of Duty and joins a game with a player playing the PS4 version of Call of Duty on a PlayStation 4.
- PS5 console playing PS5 version of a game with PS4 console playing PS4 version of the game
- Example: A player on PlayStation 5 plays the PS5 version of Call of Duty: Cold War and a player on a PlayStation 4 plays the PS4 version of Call of Duty: Cold War.
All Backward compatible PS4 games that work on PS5 will be playable online with other PS4 players.
However, not all PS5 versions of games will be compatible with online play with their PS4 versions.
At launch all major games support PS5-PS4 online multiplayer cross play.
Unfortunately, as time moves forward, and more players move from the PS4 to the PlayStation 5, fewer games will support cross-generational multiplayer.
What games support crossplay that we know of?
A number of developers of major games have already stated that their PS4 version and PS5 version of their game or games will have cross-generational multiplayer gaming enabled.
For example, Bungie, the developer of Destiny 2, will allow PS5 players to party up with PS4 gamers.
And many other games are doing the same thing.
This is great news for gamers as one of the biggest reasons why some gamers are late adopters of a new console is that their friends might not be able to buy it.
Here’s a list of games that supported cross-generational multiplayer at launch:
- Destiny 2 – Gamers can join parties formed on either the PS4 and PS5 for seamless cross-generational multiplayer.
- Fortnight – Seamless online play between PS4 and PS5
- Call of Duty: Cold War – Will support cross-play between PS and PS5 in all modes
- Call of Duty: War Zone – Will support cross-generation multiplayer between PS4 And PS5 in all game variants
- Marvel’s Avengers – Fully support cross-gen multiplayer
- Apex Legends – All modes supported by cross-gen multiplayer
- Borderlands 3 – Fully supported cross-gen multiplayer
- Rocket League – All modes and tournaments full supported for seamless cross-gen multiplayer between PS4 and PS5
- Rainbow Six Siege – Ubisoft announced that there will be a seamless multiplayer experience between PlayStation 5 and Playstation 4
- No Man’s Sky – Will offer a seamless multiplayer between PS4 and 5
- Minecraft – Multiplayer will work as normal between PS5 and PS4
- Player Unknown: Battlegrounds – Multiplayer matches will work seamlessly between ps4 and 5.
There will be many more cross-generation games that support cross-generation online multiplayer gaming between now and when the PS4 is eventually discontinued.
However, it’s worth keeping in mind that this will not last forever. As the PS5 ages, fewer and fewer games will be released on older generation PS4.
Cross Generation Progression
It’s worth keeping in mind that some games will support cross-generation progression and some won’t.
For example, Fortnight and Call of Duty: Warzone both support cross-gen progression. These games support cross-gen progression is because they use a 3rd party account to keep track of your progress.
In their cases, you log into an Epic account for Fortnight and an Activision account for Call of Duty.
These 3rd party accounts keep track of your progress, regardless of the platform you play on. Your progress is not tracked by your Playstation account.
However, for some games that don’t use a 3rd party account, you will lose your game progress when making the journey over from the PS4 to the PS5.
For example, Respawn’s Apex Legends doesn’t support cross-gen progression. Nore does Gearbox’s Borderlands 3.
However, it’s worth noting that Respawn, the makers of Apex Legends, are looking into enabling cross Gen-progression between the PS4 and PS5.
How to do PS5 cross-play with PS4
You do not have to do anything special to do cross play between PS4 and PS5 games.
You simply invite a friend, as you normally would to form a party in a multiplayer game. That player can then accept your invite and join your game.
This works regardless of the console.
Let’s take a look at a couple of examples:
First, an example of a PS4 only game: Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (COD:IW).
A gamer on PS4 Playing COD:IW invites his PS5 playing friend who owns a copy of COD:IW.
The Friend on PS5 gets an invite just as he would on PS4 prompting them to start the game.
They select the invite, the game boots, and the PS5 player joins the party.
It’s similar when a PS4 player, playing the PS4 version of a game, invites a PS5 player, with a PS5 version of a game.
For example, A PS4 gamer can invite a PS5 gamer to a game of Call of Duty: Cold War. The PS5 Gamer can accept the invite and enter the game just as if they were playing on a PS4
Can PS4 and PS5 players communicate via voice chat?
PS5 and PS4 players can communicate via voice chat in both parties and multiplayer games just as they would as if playing PS4 to PS4.
Do PS5 gamers get an advantage when playing online against PS4 players
It’s worth keeping in mind that PS5 gamers will, potentially, have a number of advantages when gaming online against PS4 players.
Higher Resolution
Some games will run at a higher resolution on the PS5 compared to the PS4.
This higher resolution will make it easier for a PS5 player to see enemy players in the distance.
For example, on a game like Call of Duty, a PS5 player may be able to spot an enemy player in the distance easier.
More consistent frame rate
Some cross-gen games will run at more stable frame rates on the PS5 compared to the PS4.
A more stable frame rate means the player will experience more consistent controller input when compared to a variable or dipping frame rate on the PS4.
What does this mean for gaming?
Well, it could mean in racing games a player on the PS5 could turn in more smoothly as the controller input stays consistent with the frame rate.
On an FPS, gaming on PS5 could make it easier for a gamer to track a moving target in a busy situation where the frame rate is likely to fluctuate.
High Frame Rates
The rally racing game Dirt 5 offers a substantial advantage to PS5 gamers.
How?
The PS5 version can run at a stable 120 fps compared to the PS4 version which runs at 60fps.
You might not think this would make much of a difference.
But it means that PS5 players have double the window of opportunity to register controller input. This makes the game more responsive to your controller actions. Also, graphics and information on screen are presented that much smoother so the image is cleaner when the ingame camera track horizontally or vertically.
3D positional Sound
The playStation 5’s tempest sound engine is capable of producing thousands of sounds and translating them into a stereo 3 dimensional sound scape.
This technology is massively more accurate for producing directional sound than primitive Dolby or DTS. The tempest even beats out DOlby Atmos which can only produce 118 simultaneous individual sounds.
But what advantage can this give you, a PS5 gamer?
Basically it means that you have a more accurate representation of the in game world around you. You’ll hear cars making over taking attempts before you see them. You’ll hear the footsteps of your enemies before you see them and you’ll be able to pinpoint their origin.
Directional sound has the potential to be a true advantage in online gaming.
Conclusion
So in summary, you now know that:
- All Backward compatible PS4 games that work on PS5 will be able to play online with PS4 gamers
- PS5 version of games will work online with PS4 version
- Some games, such as fortnight, will carry progress between PS4 and PS5
- Some games, Such as borderlands 3, will not carry progress between PS4 and PS5
- PS5 gamers wya get a small advantage when playing online with PS4 gamers. This could come in the form of a higher resolution, More stable frame rate, higher frame rates, and stereo 3D directional sound.
What Next?
How do I charge the PS5 controller? The PS5 controller is charged using a USB C cable or charging dock. Check out my article here to find out the best way to charge your PS5 controller.
Can I lay the PS5 on its side, and if so, how? Yes, you can lay the PS5 on its side. However, it can be a little tricky. Check out our article on how to lay the PS5 on its side here.
How long is the PS5 Power cable? The PS5 power cable is 1.5m long. Not long enough for you? Then head on over to our “how long is the PS4 power cable“ to learn how to lengthen it.