PS5 Cross-Gen Saves Are Decided By Developers, Not Sony
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Featured Image Credit: Insomniac Games, Sony
Sony has confirmed that the developer of a game is the one that determines whether or not you'll be able to transfer your PlayStation 4 saves to your PlayStation 5.
There's been a muddying of the waters when it comes to this feature on the next generation gizmo. Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales is on its way to the PlayStation 4 and the PlayStation 5, and players will be able to bring their PS4 save with them onto the PS5. However, the PS5 remaster of Marvel's Spider-Man will not offer this option, even though both games are developed by the same Sony-owned studio: Insomniac Games. Furthermore, DiRT 5 and Yakuza: Like a Dragon will not let players move their saves across generations of the PlayStation. Interestingly, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio - the developer of Yakuza - will allow for cross-gen saves on the Xbox One and Xbox Series S or X.
And, it was recently announced that Sackboy: A Big Adventure will permit cross-gen saves for players, though this will be part of a post-launch patch. With all of this to-ing and fro-ing, you'd forgive fans for wanting clarity on the matter, especially when the price tag for a PlayStation 5 is so steep. Well, now, Sony has issued an itemisation of all of the cross-generation features which are feasible on the PlayStation 5, including backwards compatibility for games, accessories, and PSVR.
Theoretically, all PS4 saves are accessible on the PlayStation 5. These will be transferred using a LAN cable or through a wireless connection between the two consoles. Additionally, saves that are held on an external USB storage device will be compatible with the PlayStation 5, and PS Plus subscribers will be able to sync their current-gen saves to the next-gen storage through the cloud.
Regardless of the technical capabilities of the new console, there is a very big "but" in this scenario. "Please note that the ability to transfer game saves between a PS4 version and a PS5 version of the same game is a developer decision and will vary title by title for cross-generational games," said Sony in this breakdown. This does straighten out the situation slightly, and explains why we've seen an irregular response from developers. It may be that transferring saves from PS4 to PS5 requires some elbow grease from the developer, and sometimes that isn't the most pressing priority on the project.
Anyway, there are a lot of PlayStation 4 games that are playable on the PlayStation 5. More than 4,000 of them, in fact. A number of them will be using Game Boost, which is a shot in the arm for the current-gen software on the next-gen hardware. Ghost of Tsushima is one of these "boosted" games, and players will enjoy a smooth 60 FPS option and reduced load times on the PlayStation 5.
Topics: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4
