A dedicated game preservation team at PlayStation has just been revealed thanks to a recently hired employee. Fans have asked for the ability to play older titles from the previous PlayStation generations on modern hardware since the PS4 days, and Sony recently announced that it intends to grant this wish with its revamped PS Plus Premium service. This new tier-based service will include a library of classic PlayStation exclusives in an effort to compete with Microsoft’s popular Xbox Games Pass - though some skeptics would have preferred that the PlayStation 5 simply have backward compatibility like the Xbox Series X/S.
According to VGC, PlayStation has hired former Kablam build engineer Garrett Fredley to work as a senior build engineer for something he describes as a “newly created Preservation team.” The exact function of this new division is still unknown at this time, but Fredley expressed excitement at his new position on social media, thanking PlayStation Global Head of QA Mike Bishop and his team for bringing him on board. He also describes game preservation as his "first career passion," citing his early days archiving FIFA games at EA and stating that he hopes to ensure that “our industry’s history isn’t forgotten.”
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Garrett Fredley will bring this experience to PlayStation’s new preservation team, which will probably be centered around maintaining classic PS titles to be brought to PS Plus Premium when it launches later this year. PlayStation has seen criticism for its perceived treatment of older titles in the past couple of years, with its previously-planned closure of the PS3, PSP, and PS Vita online stores being seen as a prime example. It looks like Sony is changing course though, as PS Plus Premium is promising several classic games from the PS1, PS2, and PS3 eras as part of its expansive library of titles.
Source: Garrett Fredley/Twitter (via VGC)