Sony could be making physical PS3 games playable on PS5 consoles

A reportedly reputable insider has said Sony is working on "select PS3 backwards compatibility" for the PS5.

One report suggests this could mean physical PS3 games will be playable whereas it seems more likely PS3 games will be available to be downloaded from the PS Store and played natively as that's what's happened with older PS1 and PS2 titles.

That means instead of streaming PS3 games, which is the only current option and requires a constant internet connection, PS3 games could be downloaded and played from a PS5 console.

It's a bit like what Sony have done with the recent re-release of PS2 classic Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend - Sony is selling that for £15.99 on the PS Store where players purchase it and download the game to console to play.

In this case, it's a PS2 emulation of the original game - it's not a remaster or remake.

And that could be the case with PS3 games going forward.

Currently, the only option to play select PS3 titles on a PS5 is through purchasing a PS Plus Premium subscription which is the highest subscription tier and streaming them.

The XboxEra Podcast | LIVE | Episode 217 - "It Lives!”www.youtube.com

"The rumour that I've heard is that Sony is working on select PlayStation 3 backwards compatibility," Shpeshal_Nick said on an episode of The Xbox Era Podcast.

"I'll be honest, if you see my DM, I'm like what the hell does that mean? They'll selectively choose specific PS3 games to emulate and release on PS5 or PS Plus?

"Even to sell them? I assume kind of like what Microsoft did with backwards compatibility. That's where the rumour ends, I didn't get any more detail on that.

"Will it have FPS boost? I have no idea, I have no more detail than that, all I've heard is Sony is working on selective or select compatibility.

"I assume they'll stick to some first-party stuff and maybe some very select third party stuff, I don't know. If I can get a Metal Gear Solid 4, Infamous, Resistance... Even the God of War collection, that would be nice."

This is rumour at present and nothing has been confirmed by Sony at the time of writing.

indy100 has reached out to Sony for comment.

Sign up for our free indy100 weekly newsletter

How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings