Is PS VR2 backwards compatible with PSVR 1 games?
No, PSVR 1 games won’t jump to PSVR2 due to fundamental differences in the original console’s tracking and game design. However, at least a dozen of his PSVR games will be upgraded to the new PS VR2 version at no extra charge, while some offer PSVR 1 owners the option of paid upgrades.
Why Sony Didn’t Make PSVR 2 Backward Compatible
In the official PlayStation podcast, Hideaki Nishino, Senior Vice President of Platform Experience at PlayStation, explained the technical reasons why older games don’t work on newer systems.
The original PSVR used the PlayStation Camera to track the user’s movements from a fixed position. The DualShock 4 and PlayStation Move controller sent colored LED signals that the camera detected and interpreted. Currently, the new PS5 DualSense and PS VR2 Sense controllers rely on legacy IR signals that PS cameras cannot interpret.
At the same time, PS VR2 tracks your movements with its own accelerometer and Sense controller via four inside-out cameras. This provides a different kind of movement data than what the original PSVR 1 game’s code could interpret.
For example, you couldn’t turn around in those games because the PS camera couldn’t detect your movement anymore. So while newer VR games let you turn and explore your entire surroundings, older titles don’t allow you to remain facing in one direction and code a full 360-degree environment. It limits the fun and immersion players can experience with these older titles.
Plus, of course, these PSVR 1 titles won’t take advantage of PS VR2’s unique features like eye tracking and haptic feedback. Graphically, it needs to be scaled from the original 1920 x 1080 resolution to 2000 x 2040, and further scaled to fit the 10 degree display FOV.
In this context, exposing new PS VR2 owners to a flood of old, incomplete titles that don’t take full advantage of their new headsets can discourage new and returning VR gamers from using their new headsets as new. It could also confuse sales of the PS VR2 launch game.
Which PSVR games have been ported to PS VR2?
The PlayStation Store currently lists about 500 PSVR titles released for PS4, most of which will remain exclusive to the original headset. However, there is a list of PSVR games that have been confirmed to accept the PS VR2 port.Confirmed titles are in bold free upgrade For PSVR owners to receive the next-gen version:
- After the Fall: Complete Edition
- Cave Digger 2: Dig Harder
- Creed: Rise to Glory — Championship Edition
- Hello Neighbor: Find and Rescue
- job simulator
- brigade of light
- moss
- mos book two
- NFL pro era
- No Man’s Sky
- pistol whip
- mysterious place
- Song in the Smoke: Rekindling
- beginner
- Synth Rider: Remastered Edition
- Lesbian Infinite
- tetris effect connection
- thumper
- vacation simulator
- The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners – Chapter 2: Retribution
- Zenith: The Last City
This is just the first list of PS VR2 launch titles. We know other popular PSVR games like Beat Saber will get his PS VR2 release, and it’s very likely that PSVR 1 owners will get free or discounted upgrades.
The above list is heavily focused on newer titles, making it easier for developers to code for both old and new headsets at the same time. I wouldn’t be surprised if a few like Superhot and Rec Room make the leap, and the endlessly ported Skyrim finally makes it. You might end up stuck in your old headset because you don’t have the resources to do so.
