PlayStation VR2 won’t be backwards compatible with PSVR, Sony confirms

PlayStation VR2 won’t be backwards compatible with PSVR, it’s been revealed.

Speaking on the PlayStation Blog podcast, SVP of Platform Experience, Hideaki Nishino said that “PSVR games are not compatible with PSVR 2 because PSVR 2 is designed to deliver a truly next-generation VR experience.”

“PSVR 2 has much more advanced features like all new controllers with haptic feedback and adaptive triggers and inside-out tracking, eye tracking in the headset, 3D audio all coming together of course. So this means developing PSVR 2 requires a whole different approach from the original PSVR.”

There doesn’t appear to be any technical reason why PSVR games wouldn’t be able to be ported to PSVR 2, but the number of developers likely willing to do that work is unknown.

PlayStation VR games that debuted exclusively on the platform such as Moss 2 have later been ported to other headsets like the Meta Quest.

PlayStation VR2 is planned for release in early 2023.

Sony said earlier this year that it will have more than 20 games ready for the launch of PlayStation VR 2.

“Right now, there is a considerable amount of money being spent on partnerships with independent and other third-party developers to secure a considerable pipeline of attractive VR content at the launch of PlayStation VR2,” said SIE president Jim Ryan.

“That energy, that effort and that money will continue to grow as the installed base of PlayStation VR 2 headsets grows also.”

During Sony’s CES 2022 keynote in January, the company first shared official technical specs for the PlayStation 5 VR headset and also confirmed the name for its VR controller: PlayStation VR2 Sense controller.