PS5 PlayStation 5 Firmware Updates 1

Sony will release a new PlayStation 5 firmware update beta tomorrow, with a full global rollout scheduled for later this year. The emphasis of the new system software seems to be on Parties, which some of you may recall causing an uproar a couple of years back when the Japanese giant made some unexpected changes to how they operate. The company said it was looking into this at the time, and this is its response.

You’ll now be able to create Open and Closed Parties across both the PS5 and PS4. Essentially, an Open Party means that anyone can join, as long as you’re friends with an existing party member. As you’d expect, Closed Parties will require an invitation. To accommodate this, Game Base has been given a refresh, with new tabs allowing you to toggle between Friends, Parties, and Messages. All of this should help to streamline things.

There are other quality of life improvements, such as easier access to Share Play and some alterations to the Friend Requests interface, which will make it easier to decline. Elsewhere, you’ll now have the option to pin up to five of your most frequently played games to your PS5’s homepage, and you’ll be able to show more games on the ribbon at once – up to 14 with this update. You’ll also be able to filter your games by genre.

In addition, the Trophy interface is being given another visual overhaul, while Sony is adding optional voice commands to the new-gen console, although this will be limited to English at first. It’s worth mentioning that the PS4 is also getting a firmware update beta, and in addition to all of the aforementioned Party changes, it’ll also include some voice chat volume toggles, similar to those that already exist on the PS5.

It sounds like a decent and welcome update, although fans will perhaps be frustrated by the lack of 1440p monitor support and VRR, which are among the most requested PS5 features by far. While we’re not going to complain about the quality of life improvements being delivered here, this firmware update is lacking any meaningful new features, although it is just a beta so details are obviously still subject to change.

[source blog.playstation.com]