How To Transfer Your PS4 Saves And Games To Your PS5

With less than a week to go before the official launch of the PlayStation 5, we figured it would be a good time to start getting prepared for the transition. Sony has assured players that 99% of thousands of PlayStation 4 titles will be playable on the PlayStation 5, thanks to backwards compatibility, so if you’ve still got some of your back catalogue to finish up, Sony has come up with a simple guide to help you make sure your PS4 save data is safely transferred to your new PS5 console when the time comes.

DATA TRANSFER

• Make sure your PlayStation 4 console is updated to the latest software and ensure you are signed in to the same PlayStation account that you plan to use on your PS5.
• Connect your PlayStation 4 and your PlayStation 5 to the same network. If you are using Wi-Fi, you can reduce transfer times by connecting your two consoles together via an ethernet cable.
• Once connected, follow the simple instructions on your PlayStation 5 console to “Prepare for Data Transfer”.
• The process will happen in the background, so you can continue using your PlayStation 5 while your PlayStation 4 apps and data are being transferred.
• You can use this method to transfer both your game files and your saved data.
• Please note that the ability to transfer game saves between a PS4 version and a PS5 version of the same game is a developer decision, and will vary title by title for cross-generational games.

PLAYSTATION PLUS

• If you are a PlayStation Plus member, you can use the PS+ cloud to download your save data to your new console.
• Sign into your PSN account on your PlayStation 5 and go to [Settings] > [Application Saved Data Management] > [Saved Data in Online Storage] > [Download to System Storage]

DISC

• If you have a PS4 game on disc, just insert the disc into your PS5 and it will automatically install.
• Games that are only playable on PS4 will be noted on PlayStation Store as playable on “PS4 only.” We have a list of games that are only playable on PS4, along with additional information on backward compatibility here.

EXTERNAL HDD

• Obviously you should make sure that you’ve transferred any of your PS4 games to an external hard drive before trading it in.
• You can play PlayStation 4 games stored on an external hard drive by connecting it directly to your PlayStation 5 console. Sony recommends doing this to free up space on the limited internal hard drive for your PS5 games.

PLAYSTATION STORE

• If you’ve purchased PS4 games via the PlayStation Store in the past, simply sign in to your PSN account and download your games from the store or your game library.

PlayStation 5 launches on November 12, 2020. We’ve had the opportunity to get hands-on with the new console over the last couple of weeks and you can check out everything we’ve had to say about it on our official PS5 launch hub right here.