PS5 Users That Prefer Shutting Down Console Were “Primary Driving Factor” for Welcome Hub

Sony has shed some light on how it designs the UI for the PS5 regarding how players use the console. In an interview with Game File’s Stephen Totilo, vice president of Product, Game and Player Experiences at Sony Interactive Entertainment, Cory Gasaway, elaborated on how one key feature of the PS5 UI is designed: the Welcome hub.

For those not in the know, the Welcome hub is often the first thing one encounters when switching on their PS5, giving players a summary of various aspects of their console and account. It includes a rundown of Trophy progress across games, the battery indicator for controllers, the latest deals on the PlayStation Store, or even simply a trailer for a newly announced title.

The Welcome hub is customizable, allowing players to pick the widgets they would like to display information that they would find relevant.

Gasaway talks about how the design behind the Welcome hub was based on how often PS5 users completely switched off their console, rather than simply putting it into Rest mode. He notes the PS5 user base is split roughly equally between two camps. Players that shut down their console would see the Explore screen, while players outside the US would see details on their last-played game.

“We gained a lot of insights about how players interact with their PS5 system between play sessions,” explained Gasaway. “A small example is we had an internal hypothesis that far more people would put their console into rest mode than fully shut it down each time between their play sessions. As it turned out, it was actually about 50/50 between the two options for all our players. So, what that meant was for about 50% of our users, when they booted up, if they were in the US, they were landing on our ‘Explore’ page. Those outside the US would land on the page for the last game that they have played.”

Gasaway goes on to discuss the development of the Welcome hub, and how the new space allows players who had previously shut the console down to get a brief rundown on the system and their account before hopping into the game. Players using Rest mode, however, will still jump back into their still-running game.

“This was the primary driving factor that caused us to look at building out the Welcome hub experience that has now launched globally,” he said. “The Welcome hub is a dedicated space where players can customize with widgets, allowing them to see information at a glance before they begin their gaming sessions. For players who use rest mode, if they leave their console while in a game, they will still go straight back into that game and play once they return to their console. But now, players who shut down their console and boot it back up are taken to the Welcome hub to see their customized page that includes game opportunities for them to play, message friends, or do what is important to them at that time.”

The Welcome hub is a relatively new feature, having come out with a PS5 firmware update released back in September 2024.