New Sony Patent May Point to PS3 Backwards Compatibility on PS5

The PlayStation 5 is an incredible console, bolstered by its ability to play all of the best PS4 games, along with select PSP, PS2, and even original PlayStation titles. However, one console whose games are stuck on the platform is the PS3 due to its complex architecture. This means that bringing many PS3 games to PS5 requires either remaking them like Demon's Souls or using PS Now cloud streaming. That may be about to change as we now have our first hint at Sony working on official PS3 backward compatibility.

Sony's new patent, spotted by Respawnfirst, is titled "Backward Compatibility Testing of Software in a Mode That Attempts To Induce Skew." It describes a system to test software compatibility in a "time testing mode". Essentially, the system would create timing variations to test various conditions to detect errors with the code running on a non-native system.

Nikita Kostrykin on Unsplash

While the PS3 is not mentioned in the patent directly, one could make an educated guess that this is what Sony is referring to. Sony has used its own emulators on the PS5 to play PS2 games, though it doesn't encompass the console's entire library. Of all the consoles in Sony's history, the PS3 is the one that is the most overlooked these days.

PS3 backward compatibility would open the doors for a new generation of gamers to experience titles like Killzone, Resistance, inFamous, Metal Gear Solid 4, and LittleBigPlanet, for the first time. The PS3 is also a generation with franchises that Sony has seemingly abandoned, so it would be nice to have the ability to play them natively on the console.

Sony has yet to comment on its plans for adding PS3 backward compatibility on PS5.