PS5 Remote Play Streaming Means Big Things For PS4 Gamers

Earlier today, Sony gave us some in-depth details about PlayStation 5 backward compatibility. The company announced the very short list of which PS4 games won't be playable on PS5, along with confirming which PS4 accessories would work with new hardware. As it turns out, backward compatibility isn't the only way you'll be able to play PS4 games on PlayStation 5.

In a post to the PlayStation Blog where Sony covers PS5 backward compatibility, there's an interesting section regarding Remote Play. As it turns out, you'll be able to stream PlayStation 4 games on PS5 using Sony's Remote Play feature, meaning your PS4 games won't necessarily need to take up a bunch of space on your PS5.

"Yes, Remote Play from PS4 to PS5 and PS Now streaming are supported," Sony's post on the PlayStation Blog reads. While that has the obvious benefit of saving space on your PS5's SSD, there might be a few reasons why installing your PS4 games on PS5 might be the better play.

For instance, Sony announced today that some PS4 games can benefit from PS5's Game Boost, which should result in higher frame rates (or at least ones that are stable). When you're streaming a game from the PS4, however, you can't make use of Game Boost. Then, of course, you also have the fact that Remote Play can be impacted by dips in internet speed or other network problems, which isn't something you need to worry about when a game is directly installed on your PS5.

Then you also have the fact that you'd need to hold onto your PS4 console to tap into Remote Play, which may not be something a lot of gamers want to do since the PS5 will be backward compatible with the vast majority of PS4 games. Still, if you are planning to keep your PS4, it's nice to know that you'll be able to use Remote Play to save that ever-precious PS5 SSD space.