Sony recently officially announced PlayStation VR2, the next-gen VR headset for PS5- though there’s still plenty that we don’t know about it yet. Though it has an official name, we don’t know what it’ll look like, when it will release, or how much it will cost- or even if it will be able to play the original PSVR’s games via backward compatibility.
Where that last question is concerned, Sony seems to be a bit cagey right now about committing to anything. Axios’ Stephen Totilo recently revealed via Twitter that he has asked Sony if PSVR2 will be backward compatible with its predecessor and if the new headset will launch in 2022. Sony was unwilling to answer either question, saying it had “nothing further to announce at the moment.”
Interestingly, XboxEra co-founder Nick Baker (who’s been a prominent leaker on the PlayStation front as well) says in response to this that based on what he was told about a year ago, PSVR2 isn’t going to be backward compatible.
Of course, PSVR itself can be played on a PS5- though if backward compatibility is indeed being dropped, if someone with a PSVR2 wants to play something like Astro Bot Rescue Mission, they’re not going to be able to do that unless they have the original headset, which is a little disappointing.
Nothing has been officially confirmed either way though, so don’t take anything as confirmation just yet.
Meanwhile, Sony has also announced Horizon Call of the Mountain, developed by Guerrilla and Firesprite Games exclusively for PSVR2. Apparently, it’s going to be worth keeping an eye on.
I asked Sony if PSVR2 would be out in 2022 and if it'll be backwards compatible with PSVR titles (something many people asked me to ask them yesterday). Neither was addressed yesterday.
Sony PR says they have nothing further to announce at the moment. So stay tuned…
— Stephen Totilo (@stephentotilo) January 5, 2022
I was told almost a year ago it wouldn't be BC. But maybe they've had time to work it out since? Or maybe add it some time after launch? Would be weird to give away so many VR games that…can't play on the new device https://t.co/CGX4GuIkel
— Balatro Nick (@Shpeshal_Nick) January 5, 2022
