Which PlayStation 5 Games Support Cross-Save and Cross-Play
The PlayStation 5 launch lineup includes several “different generations” games that are also available on the PlayStation 4. The PS5 ports will look and play much better than the PS4 versions, and some developers are allowing users to upgrade to extended PS5 versions for free . However, two important questions arise: Will your PS4 saved data be compatible with PS5 games? And will you be able to play your favorite multiplayer games in cross-play mode?
The answer to both questions is unequivocal: “it depends on the circumstances.” Let’s start with the cross-preservation problem.
Cross-save games for PlayStation 5
Unfortunately, only a few PS5 games from different generations allow importing PS4 save data into the PS5 version. This possibility is left to the discretion of the developers. Unfortunately, many games that offer free updates to the PS5 version do not allow save files to be transferred.
This does not mean that your PS4 saves will not be transferred to PS5. The vast majority of PS4 games can be played on PS5 and your saved data will be preserved. This hurdle only applies when updating a PS4 version of a game to a PS5 version – and this is where things get confusing.
Let’s use Yakuza: Like a Dragon as an example as it will have PS4 and PS5 versions, both of which are technically playable on PS5. Sega will allow PS4 players to upgrade to the PS5 version when it releases next year, but you won’t be able to transfer the PS4 save file to the PS5 version. However, you can play the PS4 version of Yakuza on your PS5 and instead continue to save the game in the same way – but this is not an optimal solution to an unnecessarily confusing problem.
To be a little clearer, here’s a list of games across generations that will allow you to import your PS4 saves to PS5 (for now):
- Borderlands 3
- Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
- Call of Duty: Warzone
- Dead in the daylight
- FIFA 21 (Ultimate Team only, Volta Football data)
- For honor
- Fortnite
- Madden NFL 21 (data from MUT, Franchise and Yard)
- Spider-Man Marvel: Miles Morales
- Marvel Avengers
- NBA 2K21 (MyTeam data only)
- No man’s sky
- Sackboy: A Big Adventure (post-release patch)
Other titles may be added to the list in the future, but for now, if the game is not on this list, you will have to either start over from the PS5 version, or play your copy of PS4 on PS5 if you want to save your progress.
PlayStation 5 Cross Games
Fortunately, cross-play on PS5 is much easier than cross-save. Here’s a list of all the PS5 games that will let you play with others across different platforms (for now):
- Apex legends
- Borderlands 3
- Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
- Call of Duty: Warzone
- Dead in the daylight
- DIRT 5
- Fortnite
- Mortal Kombat 11
- No man’s sky
- Overcooked: Everything You Can Eat
- Sackboy: The Big Adventure
This list only includes PS5 games. As previously mentioned, most PS4 games can also be played on the PS5, but Sony states that some multiplayer modes and online features (such as cross play) may not work as expected if you play on the PS5. We won’t know the details until more people check the compatibility of their PS4 library on PS5. Likewise, just because there is cross play in a game does not mean that your progress is saved. Please refer to the cross-save list above to see which PS5 games allow you to import your PS4 progress.