Imagine this: you and your friends organize a game night and agree that everyone brings their PlayStation console (along with snacks and beer, of course). However, one of you brings a PS4, while everyone else has a PS5.
Is the night ruined for them, or can PS4 play with PS5?
You’ll find out in this article.
Can PS4 Play with PS5?
PS4 players can play with PS5 players and vice versa. However, this will depend on whether the game you want to play has crossplay, cross-gen, or cross-platform functionality.
Is it Possible for PS4 to Play With PS5?
So can a PS4 player play with PS5 players? Well, we have some good news for you! Yes, they can! Sony calls this cross-gen play. However, it’s not that simple, we’re afraid. You see, crossplay is a feature that is only available on certain games.
How do you know which Sony games support crossplay and which ones don’t? Here things become a little complicated and require some research on your part or maybe a simple trial and error.
There are two ways you can use to find out if a particular game is compatible with both PS4 and PS5.
- Check on Google: For instance, if you search for “is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare cross-platform between PS4 and PS5?” you’ll find that it is.
- Send an invite to a friend with an older console: Another way to check if your PS4 friend can play with you (if you have a PS5) is to send them an invite. If they can join your game, then yes, they can.
What is Crossplay?
Of course, we’re talking about video games here and not cosplaying (because cosplaying refers to dressing up/cosplaying as a character of a different gender), just to make things clear.
Crossplay (cross-play, cross-platform play, cross-compatible play) refers to the functionality of a game to be played on different video game hardware and consoles.
For instance, crossplay allows a PS5 player to play a game with Nintendo Switch or Xbox Series X players and vice versa.
What is Cross Gen on Playstation Games?
As console manufacturers like Sony (Playstation), Microsoft (Xbox) and Nintendo (Switch) release new generations of their gaming consoles, many of their older games are no longer available to be played on newer consoles.
Of course, many players would like to play these games with their friends on other gen consoles. However, for a long time, this wasn’t possible.
That is until Sony introduced cross-gen play.
So what is cross-gen on PlayStation games?
Cross-gen is a functionality of certain Sony games that allows them to be played on different generation consoles like, for instance, PS4 and PS5.
Again, not all games have this functionality, so if you want to know which games those are, we have your answer below.
Which Games Allow Crossplay with PS4 and PS5?
We made a nice chart that will also answer the question, “can PS5 play with PS4?”
| Game | Crossplay and Cross Platform Progression |
|---|---|
| Among Us | Yes |
| Apex Legends | No |
| Arcadegeddon | No |
| Arkanoid: Eternal Battle | No |
| Bassmaster Fishing 2022 | No |
| Borderlands 3 | No |
| Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War | Yes |
| Call of Duty: Warzone | Yes |
| Call of Duty: Vanguard | Yes |
| Chivalry 2 | Yes |
| Dauntless | Yes |
| Dead by Daylight | Yes |
| Diablo 4 | Yes |
| DIRT 5 | No |
| Evil Dead: The Game | No |
| Farming Simulator 22 | No |
| Fortnite | Yes |
| Ghost Recon Frontline | Yes |
| Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed | No |
| GRID Legends | No |
| Guilty Gear Strive | No |
| Just Dance 2021 | No |
| Knockout City | Yes |
| MLB The Show 21 | Yes |
| MLB The Show 22 | Yes |
| Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate | No |
| MultiVersus | Yes |
| NERF Legends | No |
| No Man’s Sky | Yes |
| Outriders | No |
| Rainbow Six Extraction | Yes |
| Riders Republic | Yes |
| Rumbleverse | Yes |
| Sackboy: A Big Adventure | Yes |
| Super Animal Royale | Yes |
| Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands | No |
| Worms Rumble | No |
Also, if you want to know if you can crossplay a game on other consoles than PS4 and PS5, like Microsoft’s Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Nintendo Switch, PC, or mobile, you can check out this article.
Do you want to know which is better for gaming, PC or console? Then check out this article.
How to Crossplay?
So you want to crossplay a game between two different gaming consoles? How do you actually do that?
It’s pretty straightforward. All you need to do is start your game and invite a friend into your multiplayer lobby. If the game has cross-platform functionality, your buddy should be able to enter your lobby and join the game (they will see a prompt saying “join game”).
If the prompt is not there, then, unfortunately, the game is not cross-platform.
Now, there are two types of cross-gen play.
The first is when the Playstation 4 player plays the PS4 version of the game and the Playstation 5 is playing the PS5 version.
This type of crossplay is less common and is usually reserved for either newer games or frequently updated games (like CoD: Modern Warfare, for instance).
The problem here is that, since there is a quality disparity between the two consoles (PS5 being newer and more powerful than PS4), the game won’t work the same for both.
For example, the PS4 player will probably wait longer for their game to load than the PS5 player. So if you’re that PS4 player, be ready for some jokes about you being from the stone age.
Another option is for both players to play the same version of the game. In other words, both the PS4 and PS5 players would play the PS4 version.
This is thanks to backward compatibility. Fortunately, according to Sony, most of its 4000+ PS4 titles are backward compatible with PS5.
Now, the problem with this is that if you have a Playstation 5 and are playing the PS4 version of the game, you’ll be losing out on those sweet PS5 graphics.
But what if you have a PS4 Pro? Here’s an article we wrote on the difference between PS4 and PS4 Pro.
Can You Cross Platform with Other Consoles?
With the rise in popularity of multiplayer games, developers have been urged by gamers to allow cross-platform compatibility in their games.
And while more and more games have this functionality, cross-platform compatibility is still done on a game-by-game basis, and even if it is supported, they may only have partial cross-platform support.
For instance, PS4 and PS5 players will be disappointed to hear that Halo Infinite is only available on Xbox One, Xbox Series X and S and PC, while on the other hand, Guilty Gear: Strive is only available on PS4, PS5 and PC.
Still, such “exclusives” are becoming a minority in the gaming world and more and more PS4 and PS5 games can cross-platform with other consoles.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does save progression carry over from PS4 to PS5?
If you want to save your progress and continue your game on the next game night, this is not possible on all crossplay games. Check out the chart above to see which PS4 and PS5 games have cross-platform progression.
Conclusion
There you have it! Time to wrap up the article (and the game night). So here’s how to turn off your PS5.
If you want to play Call of Duty: Warzone, Fortnite, or other popular titles with your friends who have different gen consoles, then you can.
However, this isn’t the case with all Sony games, so before you invite them for a game night, be sure to check if the game has that functionality in the first place.
If it does, all you have left is to buy some snacks and drinks and enjoy your night!
