Why Won’t PlayStation VR 2 Play PS VR Games? Sony Doesn’t Have a Good Reason

For a while, the PlayStation VR was one of the most accessible VR systems out there. All you needed to enjoy dozens of fun virtual reality experiences was a PlayStation 4 and a PlayStation Camera, which was often bundled with the headset.

While its PS3-era PlayStation Move motion controllers aged like milk, Sony’s headset itself has continued to offer fun VR for PlayStation owners. It even works with the PlayStation 5, if you ask Sony for a free adapter for the PlayStation Camera. And soon we’re going to get the PlayStation VR 2, which looks to be better in every way to the original. How exciting!

PlayStation VR 2
(Credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Just don’t throw out your original PS VR, even if you get the new one, because you won’t be able to play any of your PS VR games.

As noted by Nibellion(Opens in a new window), Sony SVP of Platform Experience Hideaki Nishino appeared on episode 439(Opens in a new window) of the Official PlayStation Podcast, during which he said: “PS VR games are not compatible with PS VR 2, because PS VR 2 is designed to deliver a purely next-generation VR experience. This means developing games for PS VR 2 requires a whole different approach from original PS VR.”

Nishino listed new PS VR 2 features, like eye-tracking and the controllers with adaptive triggers. So yes, the PS VR 2 is a much more powerful, feature-filled device than the PS VR. That absolutely does not explain why it can’t play PS VR games.

To be clear, these games already run on the hardware to which the PS VR 2 will be tethered. The PlayStation 5 is backwards-compatible with PlayStation 4 games and works with the PS VR, and it’s the console that does the bulk of running VR games. The headset handles display, sound, movement—all of the input and output of the experience—but it’s the PS5 that actually drives the software and we already know it can do that.

Missing: Any PS VR software that hasn’t been specifically ported to PS VR 2.
(Credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment)

There’s no doubt that the PS VR 2 will be a massive upgrade from the PS VR. Nowhere does it seem that the PS VR 2 is taking away an aspect of the PS VR that will prevent it from running games developed for that headset.

Of course the current PS VR won’t be able to play games developed for the PS VR 2 because they’ll be made with the more powerful hardware in mind. But Nishino’s explanation for why it won’t work in the other direction makes no sense. The power is there, and unlike PS3 to PS4, PS4 to PS5 software works just fine.

This seems to be a baffling and arbitrary limitation that forces developers who worked on PS VR software to put resources into producing releases specifically for the PS VR 2. It seems unfair for indie devs who would want their VR games to remain available for current VR hardware since they can run on the current consoles, and for gamers who want to keep their old VR experiences while enjoying the new ones without dealing with two sets of tethered VR headsets.

Maybe Sony will clarify the reasons the PS VR 2 won’t run PS VR games more clearly in the future. Until then, this seems really unfortunate for almost everyone involved.