Control your upgrade
Upgrade your games to next-gen versions. Here’s how…
Having to wait for new games after a console’s launch can be painful. It won’t be with PlayStation 5. With a slew of publishers offering a path to upgrade our games from PS4 to PS5 we no longer have to settle for the limitations of a launch-day lineup.
This can be harder to get your noggin around than you might expect, however. For the most part upgrading is free but in some cases things are more complex – you’ll need to buy certain PS4 games digitally, and some publishers charge for a spruce-up.
Fundamentally, PS5’s upgrade system enables you to download a patch to your new console for a PS4 game you already own, so your game can take advantage of the best of the next gen. This is different from backwards compatibility, where a game can make use of PS5’s Performance mode to enhance framerates and speed up loading.
For the most part upgrades are available for games that exist on PS4 already and for which a PS5 edition is planned or being released soon, along with all that entails. PS4 games getting a PS5 makeover are guaranteeing rendering the game in 4K at 60fps. Some are going even further – for example Dirt 5 will offer 120fps if you upgrade. Whether a game will make use of PS5’s broader tech, including SSD fast loading, ray tracing, 3D audio, and complete DualSense support – including haptic and adaptive triggers – will be done on a case-by-case basis.
UPGRADE? DISC-USS
If you own a PS4 game on a physical disc, and there’s a PS5 upgrade on offer, you’ll need to put the disc into your PS5. You can then download the PS5 version while keeping the PS4 disc in your new console. You’ll need to keep the disc in the drive every time you play.
Upgrading from a digital copy of a PS4 game is far simpler. Just head to the PS Store on your PS5, select the game you own on PS4, and if there’s a PS5 version it will download.
Just to make life interesting, some games and publishers are muddying the waters a little. To upgrade and download a ray-traced Marcus
Rashford for FIFA 21 on PS5 you’ll need to start the process before FIFA 22 is released (the upgrade comes out on 4 December). If you want to upgrade PS4’s Hitman 3 to PS5 then you need to buy it digitally, as physical copies aren’t supported. It’s not all bad news, though. You’ll be able to access a PS5 upgrade for The Witcher 3 in the new year as this classic RPG is getting re-released on PS5.
Control is a dark horse when it comes to PS5, as you can only access the PS5 upgrade if you’ve bought the new Control Ultimate Edition on PS4 (not the original version). While you can play Control on PS5 as part of the console’s backwards compatibility, if you want that sweet ray-traced Oldest House you’ll need to buy the game all over again.
It’s worth taking time to find those games that fully make use of PS5 and offer a free upgrade. Take NBA 2K21. On PS4 it’s a decent annual update, but on PS5 the game looks close to photoreal and has the kind of physicsbased net animation PES fans would see red (cards) over. Yet its upgrade goes further, bringing full DualSense support and the ability to tap into PS5’s CPU, which leads to greater direct ball handling, finessed manual shots, new signature moves, and more.
Erick Boenisch, executive producer on NBA 2K21, explains how the upgrade makes uses the DualSense: “On the adaptive triggers, we’re using these to convey energy and fatigue. As your player’s stamina depletes over the course of a game, you’ll feel more resistance on the Sprint trigger. We’re also using it for the post game, where there will be resistance on p when backing down a weaker player and more resistance when trying to back down a strong opponent.”
Boenisch goes on to explain how loading times in the upgrade change the entire feel of a game, and how “every blink, smile, muscle shift, and more are recorded” during mocap for PS5 to make the game photoreal.
This new visual fidelity is backed by harnessing the CPU to deliver AI-powered animation. “We have better foot planting technology thanks to the added computational power of next-gen, so you’ll be able to execute those step back threes with greater accuracy,” says Boenisch.
The team at Visual Concepts spent over a year on the game’s PS5 edition, and free upgrade, to take “advantage of every piece of performance-boosting hardware available to us,” says Boenisch, enthusing: “NBA 2K21 on the PS5 is a true showpiece for the next generation of games!’
Upgrading does have a few down sides. Currently save data from some games you’re playing on PS4 can’t be carried over to their PS5-upgraded counterparts. Sega has confirmed Yakuza: Like A Dragon game saves won’t carry over. Progress in Warframe, Destiny 2, Fortnite, and other online games will enable PS4-to-PS5 data transfer. There’s a sense game save transfer is happening on a developer-by-developer basis. Kena: Bridge Of Spirits’ Ember Labs, for example, confirmed to OPM you will be able to take your PS4 save to PS5 when you get your free upgrade for its beautiful adventure when it finally releases next year.
This mix-and-match approach to migrating and accessing game save data is one reason some of us may game the system. With PS5 games costing, on average, £10 more than their PS4 counterparts it’s easy to preorder a PS4 edition of a game and wait for the PS5 upgrade; that way you get your top-of-the-line edition cheaper. So, how much are you willing to pay to ensure your gangster life in the Yokohama district of Isezaki Ijincho comes to PS5 with you?
BOOSTER GOLD
Despite some grey areas, the pathway to playing your PS4 games on PS5 is smoother than that from PS3 to PS4 (which offered paid-for upgrades). With virtually every PS4 game playing on Sony’s next-gen hardware – ten games won’t work, but we can live without Robinson: The Journey clogging up our PS5’s drive – getting one with largely free upgrades that tap into the console’s superpowers shouldn’t be overlooked.
It’s also worth considering that PS4 games running on PS5 can make use of the console’s Performance mode, which can enable some to make limited use of the new hardware; for example Ghost Of Tsushima won’t receive a PS4-to-PS5 upgrade but if you play the game on your new console it will run faster – 60fps – and load faster as it’ll make use of that SSD. Oh, and as it’s not a PS5 upgrade but a ‘booster’ you’ll be able to transfer your save data.
With so many fourth-gen games making use of PS5 tech, whether boosted or upgraded, the real question is not which of your favourite games will you play on PS5, but how can you find the time to try them all?
“IT’S WORTH CONSIDERING THAT PS4 GAMES CAN MAKE USE OF PS5’S PERFORMANCE MODE.”