Ubisoft shared today that a handful of its titles will not be compatible with the PlayStation 5, which is set to release in a couple short weeks. These include a range of games from lower-profile titles like Space Junkies, a VR arcade space shooter, to triple-A fan-favorites in the Assassin’s Creed franchise. There is still a lot of confusion surrounding which games will or will not be backwards compatible with the PlayStation 5 and news on the topic has been coming out in a disjointed, piece by piece way over the past few months.
The most recent word from Sony was that only a small percentage of PlayStation 4 games would not work on the PS5. The company even provided a small list of titles that would not be able to make the jump, most of which seemed to be acceptable losses for PlayStation fans. Sony explained the PS5’s selective backwards compatibility by pointing to the next-gen console’s boosted power with which some older titles just would not be able to play nice. However, in contrast, Microsoft’s new systems seem to be having fewer compatibility issues. This was made clear in Ubisoft’s post highlighting games that would not work on PlayStation 5, but would on the Xbox Series X/S.
Today’s news post from Ubisoft details cross-play and cross-progression with Ubisoft connect. Nestled near the end of the article was an asterisk expanding on an earlier point in the text which claimed most, though not all, of Ubisoft’s current generation titles could be found on the next generation of consoles. The Xbox Series X/S compatibility was easy enough to explain because all Ubisoft’s games seem to be playable on Microsoft’s systems. However, the company stated the following PlayStation 4 games would not be backwards compatible with the PlayStation 5: Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, Assassin’s Creed Chronicles Trilogy Pack, Assassin’s Creed Chronicles India, Assassin’s Creed Chronicles China, Assassin’s Creed Chronicles Russia, Risk, Star Trek Bridge Crew, Werewolves Within, and Space Junkies.
With nine titles, this Ubisoft-specific list is nearly as long as the one shared earlier by Sony, a list which was supposed to represent the extent of the PlayStation 5’s backwards compatibility exclusions. Among the games listed, Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, which came out in 2015 to fans fatigued with the franchise’s yearly releases, was recently getting a bit of a reputation boost among gamers. It is possible that some players will be disappointed that the franchise's Victorian London setting might not be coming to Sony's next-gen console.
Like a lot of things leading up to the next-gen console launch, the messaging surround the PlayStation 5’s backwards compatibility has been confusing. It’s unusual that Ubisoft has taken it upon itself to point out backwards compatibly issues with its games when Sony hasn’t. The conflicting information prompts the question of why these titles weren’t included on the official list and is sure to sow some doubt among gamers during this last stretch before the PlayStation 5 launches November 12.
Source: Ubisoft