Sony confirms PSVR 2 not backwards compatible with original PSVR games

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Sony has officially confirmed that original PlayStation VR games will not be playable on its next-gen PlayStation VR 2 headset.

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The new PSVR 2 headset is coming in 2023 with a ton of new features and technological advancements including inside-out tracking and a single USB-C connection...but it's missing one important thing: Backwards compatibility.

In a recent PlayStation Blog podcast, Sony exec Hidaki Nishino says that the PSVR 2 will not support PSVR 1 games. To put it simply, the PSVR 2 is just too different than the PS4-powered headset.

"PSVR games are not compatible with PSVR 2 because PSVR 2 is designed to deliver a truly next generation VR experience," SVP of Platform Experience Hideaki Nishino said.

"PSVR 2 has much more advanced features like an all-new controller with haptic feedback, adaptive triggers, inside-out tracking, eye-tracking, 3D audio, 4K HDR...this means developing games for PSVR 2 requires a whole different approach than the original PSVR.

"These features actually enable developers to create the worlds that feel more vivid and alive and to bring players closer to the gameplay space than ever."

"You will see heightened experience, heightened immersiveness with more precision control over the experience. You will be in there."

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With that being said, Sony Interactive Entertainment is spending a "considerable amount of money" on new PSVR 2 games. PlayStation boss Jim Ryan asserts that SIE has invested deeply into a rich pipeline of games and content for the new consumer HMD.

New titles include Resident Evil Village and the upcoming Horizon Call of the Mountain VR game.

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So far PSVR adoption has been slim. Meta's Oculus is the market leader with its Rift headsets, in part due to costs and low competition. As of 2020, Sony had only sold 5 million PlayStation VR headsets, representing an attach rate of just 4% compared to PS4 sales for the according period.

Sony's PlayStation VR headset is set to launch in 2023. No release date or pricing has been announced.