What discs can a PlayStation 5 play?

With Sony’s plans to stop making disc-based games come 2028, physical media enthusiasts may want to start stocking up soon. While some PlayStation 5 owners already veered in this direction by purchasing the disc-free console variant, many traditionalists can’t stand the thought of this transition. While no new games released in 2028 and beyond will get physical copies, existing discs will still continue to work.

We’re over a year away from this shift — one that could very well play into what the PlayStation 6 ends up being. In the meantime, if you have a stack of Blu-ray movies, your go-to show on DVD or some last-gen games sitting around, they should all work on the PS5. Let’s go through which discs are compatible with Sony’s current console.

Remember that if you own the Slim digital PS5 or a PS5 Pro, you can buy the detachable PS5 disc drive for $79. This isn’t compatible with the original Digital Edition model.

Of course, all PS5 game discs will continue to work on the console, as will your old PS4 physical games. Barring a few titles, the PS5 is backward compatible with the “overwhelming majority” of PS4 titles, whether on disc or digital. From Bloodborne to Red Dead Redemption 2, plenty of iconic PS4 releases haven’t received the next-gen treatment, but you’re still able to enjoy them on the newer system. 

Even better, the console’s Game Boost tech delivers smoother frame rates for certain PS5 games including God of War, The Last of Us Part II and Days Gone. While this feature doesn’t apply to every game, many of the ones that received patches upped performance to 60 fps on PS5 — an improvement from how those titles ran on a standard PS4.

According to Sony’s PS5 backward compatibility page, a total of six PS4 games aren’t playable. Apologies to fans of Hitman Go: Definitive Edition and some other obscure titles like We Sing or Just Deal With It! The company notes that other PS4 releases like demos and media apps might not be compatible, either.

Unfortunately, the PS5’s backward compatibility doesn’t go any further; the console won’t play physical PS1, PS2 or PS3 games. Plenty of legendary titles from older generations are available to play digitally from the PlayStation Store, though many beloved games like LittleBigPlanet and Shadow Hearts: Covenant remain abandoned on their original consoles.

Many of the best streaming services like Netflix and Disney+ offer apps on PS5. If you’re planning to treat the console like an all-in-one media hub, you’ll be glad to know the PlayStation 5 supports both Ultra HD Blu-ray and standard Blu-ray discs, as well as DVDs. That means all those old movies and TV box sets you bought years ago still have some life in them. However, 3D Blu-rays are a no-go.

Home-burned video discs may work if you properly finalize them, but there are no guarantees. You can’t drop raw video files onto a disc and play them on the PS5. The PS5 can’t play audio CDs, which matches is predecessor (though the PS3 had this capability). If you want to listen to music while playing, Apple Music and Spotify offer apps for the console.

If this is something you want, a better option is connecting a USB drive with video or audio files, following Sony’s instructions for folder naming and file types. That’s a good workaround for files you’d otherwise play from homemade discs or CDs.

Finally, while it’s probably obvious, Sony asserts that non-circular discs shaped like a “card, star or heart” will be rejected. Don’t stick a small GameCube disc into the PS5, either.