99% of PS4 Games Will Be Playable On The PS5 At Launch According To Sony Exec

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The next-gen console wars have officially begun after Sony finally unveiled the price and release date of the PlayStation 5 on Wednesday afternoon.

Sony’s new next-gen console will be released on November 12, but unfortunately, there won’t be many new games available at launch. Thankfully for those making the jump from PS4 to PS5 a large amount of PlayStation 4 games will be playable on the new system.

Playstation CEO Jim Ryan spoke with Gene Park of the Washington Post and revealed that 99 percent of PS4 games will be backward compatible on the PS5 at launch.

Via The Washington Post

Ryan also said that of the thousands of games tested for PS4 backwards compatibility, “99 percent” can be played on the next console. Sony also announced a new service called PS Plus Collection, which will offer 18 PS4 first-party titles for download to subscribers to the PlayStation online service. It’s a tremendous freebie for anyone who plays their PlayStation online, and a good entry point for anyone new to Sony properties like “The Last of Us.”

Ryan also goes on to say that Sony will continue to support the PS4 for four for more years.

Ryan said he expects up to four years for the PlayStation 4′s expected life span, which makes sense considering the console’s large install base. The PlayStation 2 had a life span of about 13 years, and developers continued to support it several years after the PlayStation 3 approached its middle age.

“The PS4 community will continue to be incredibly important to us for three or four years,” Ryan said. “Many will transition to PS5, we hope if we do our job well, but tens of millions will still be engaged with the PS4.”

This is pretty awesome news considering how thin the initial launch lineup is for the PS5.