PS VR games are not compatible with PS VR2, confirms Sony

Sony is expected to launch the next generation of its PlayStation Virtual Reality (VR) gaming headset, the PS VR2, early next year. However, gamers who want to keep playing the VR games they have already bought for their PS VR headset will have to retain their old hardware.

Games developed for the PS VR headset will not be compatible with the PS VR2. In other words, the next generation of the VR gaming headset is not backward compatible, confirmed PlayStation senior vice-president of platform experience Hideaki Nishino. He said the following:

PS VR games are not compatible with PS VR2 because PS VR2 is designed to deliver a truly next-generation VR experience. PS VR2 has much more advanced features, like [an] all-new controller with haptic feedback and adaptive triggers, inside-out tracking, eye tracking, 3D audio is coming together and 4K HDR, of course. This means developing games for PS VR2 requires a whole different approach than the original PS VR.

The PS VR2 headset has completely new hardware. Even the controllers are completely different from the PS VR controllers. As this is a hardware-level issue, it is unlikely that Sony or game developers will put in the effort to ensure games made for the PS VR headset can be played on the PS VR2.

There could be some game titles that would be backward compatible with the current generation of PS VR headsets. However, developers building new games for the PS VR2 headset will need to rework nearly every aspect of the game just to ensure their creations work reliably on both headsets.

Incidentally, some games that do work on PS VR have been confirmed for PS VR2, but the list is quite small. Hence, gamers hoping to play their entire PS VR library will need to hold onto the first-generation headset.