Backwards compatibility on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2

All three current consoles play games from the generation before them. Sony says the PS5 runs "the overwhelming majority" of more than 4,000 PS4 games. Xbox Series X/S plays most Xbox One games, plus a hand-picked library of Xbox 360 and original Xbox games. Switch 2 plays physical and digital Switch games, with a published list of exceptions.

The difference is everything older. Xbox is the only one that runs games from two and three generations back on the console itself, though that library stopped growing in 2021. PlayStation sends PS1, PS2, PSP and PS3 games through PS Plus Premium, and PS3 games only by streaming. Nintendo keeps its older systems inside Nintendo Switch Online. Here's each console in detail.

Backward compatibility on PS5, Xbox and Switch 2 at a glance

	PS5	Xbox Series X/S	Switch 2
Last generation	PS4: the "overwhelming majority" of 4,000+ games	Xbox One: most games, except Kinect-only ones	Switch: physical and digital, with exceptions
Older consoles on the machine	No (no PS3 discs)	Selected Xbox 360 and original Xbox games	No
Older games by subscription	PS Plus Premium: PS1, PS2, PSP, PS3 (PS3 streaming only)	Not needed: back compat is free	Nintendo Switch Online: NES to GameCube
Known problem games	Six PS4-only games	Kinect-only Xbox One games	About 140 with issues that block progress
Free enhancements	Game Boost; extra boosts on PS5 Pro	FPS Boost, Auto HDR, up to 4K	Free updates for 19 Nintendo games
Discs	Disc models; Digital Edition needs the add-on drive	Series X yes; Series S is digital only	Switch game cards work
Moving saves	Wi-Fi transfer, USB or PS Plus cloud storage	Cloud saves (not original Xbox console saves)	System Transfer during setup

Is PS5 backwards compatible?

Yes, with PS4. Sony's compatibility page lists six PS4 games that won't run: Afro Samurai 2 Revenge of Kuma Volume One, Just Deal With It!, Robinson: The Journey, We Sing, Hitman Go: Definitive Edition and Shadwen. Original PS VR games work, with the PS VR headset, the PS4 camera and a free adaptor.

PS4 discs work in any PS5 with a disc drive, and the disc stays in while you play. The Digital Edition can't read them unless you add Sony's separate disc drive.

What Game Boost does on PS5 and PS5 Pro

Sony says select PS4 games "will benefit from the PS5 console's Game Boost," which may give them a higher or smoother frame rate. The PS5 Pro adds its own PS5 Pro Game Boost, which "may stabilize or improve the performance of supported PS4 and PS5 games," per the PlayStation Blog. It also has an Enhance Image Quality for PS4 Games setting under Screen and Video, which raises resolution in select PS4 games on a 1440p or 4K screen.

Can PS5 play PS3, PS2 and PS1 games?

Not from a disc. Sony says plainly that "PS5 consoles do not support PlayStation 3 discs," and its compatibility list covers PS4 games only. The official route is PlayStation Plus Premium, at $19.99 a month or $159.99 a year in the US. Its Classics Catalog has PS3 games "available via streaming only," per Sony's PS Plus games page, while PS1, PS2 and PSP classics can be streamed or downloaded.

How to move PS4 saves to PS5

Move games and saves from a PS4 over Wi-Fi, with a USB drive, or through cloud storage, which every PS Plus tier includes. Carrying a save from a game's PS4 version to its PS5 version is different: Sony calls it "a developer decision" that varies title by title. Some PS4 games offer a PS5 upgrade, and disc copies need a PS5 with a disc drive to claim it. For multi-platform games, see which version of a game to buy.

How does Xbox Series X/S backward compatibility work?

Xbox goes back the furthest, and it's free: Series X/S plays most Xbox One games and selected Xbox 360 and original Xbox games you already own. The big gap is Kinect. Xbox One games that require the sensor won't run, and Pure Xbox found "you can't even load these games."

On Series X, insert an old disc and the console downloads the game, though the disc still has to be in the drive to play. Series S is digital only.

The older library is closed. In November 2021 Microsoft added 70+ games in what it called the "latest and final addition," saying it had reached the limit "of our ability to bring new games to the catalog from the past." The Xbox 360 Store stopped selling games on July 29, 2024, but Xbox said "hundreds" of backward-compatible 360 and original Xbox games stay on sale through the Xbox One and Series store.

FPS Boost and Auto HDR on Xbox Series X/S

FPS Boost aims to raise frame rates "to nearly double that of their original." When Dishonored: Definitive Edition, Skyrim Special Edition, Fallout 4, Fallout 76 and Prey got it in March 2021, they went from 30fps to nearly 60, per Xbox Wire. Fallout 4 and 76 lower their resolution to do it, so it isn't on by default for them on Series X. Toggle it per game under Manage game, then Compatibility options.

Fallout 4 screenshot: the Sole Survivor and Dogmeat on a ruined road, one of the games FPS Boost takes from 30fps to nearly 60 on Xbox Series X/S

Auto HDR adds HDR to games made before HDR existed, and select older titles render at up to 4K.

Do Xbox saves and achievements carry over?

Supported games keep your saves, add-ons and achievements, and saves sync through the cloud. The exception is the original Xbox: saves from the original console don't transfer, and its games have no achievements because the feature didn't exist yet.

What changed for Xbox backward compatibility in 2026

On July 22, Microsoft launched Xbox Backward Compatibility on PC in early release, with four original Xbox games: BLiNX: The Time Sweeper, Conker: Live and Reloaded, Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge and Fuzion Frenzy. If you own one digitally on console, "that license now carries over" to PC. Microsoft also said achievements are coming to select original Xbox games on console and PC later this year. Xbox 360 games could follow: a leaked document reported by VGC points to 2027 or 2028, though Microsoft hasn't announced it.

Is Switch 2 backwards compatible?

Yes. Nintendo says Switch 2 plays both physical and digital Switch games, though some "may not be supported or fully compatible." Its compatibility page links a list of games with issues that prevent progress, including ones that won't start. It runs to about 140 titles, nearly all marked "This issue is being investigated." Most are small releases, but Borderlands 3 Ultimate Edition, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II and South Park: The Fractured but Whole are on it.

Hardware causes the rest. The Labo VR Kit can't be played because Switch 2 doesn't fit the goggles, and Joy-Con 2 has no IR Motion Camera, so parts of games like 1-2-Switch need original Joy-Con. Old microSD cards won't work either: Switch 2 needs microSD Express.

An original Nintendo Switch: most of its games also run on Switch 2

Free updates and Switch 2 Editions

Nintendo has given 19 of its own Switch games free Switch 2 updates. Super Mario Odyssey gets sharper visuals, HDR and two-player GameShare, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet get a smoother frame rate, and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe got faster loading and eight-player local play on one console on September 1, 2026. Other Switch games may run better too, but "performance improvements vary depending on software."

A Nintendo Switch 2 Edition is the paid version: the original game plus an upgrade pack, which Switch owners can buy on its own. Nintendo has released nine of its own so far, from Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom on June 5, 2025 to Super Mario Bros. Wonder on March 26, 2026. Animal Crossing's pack is $4.99, per VGC, and the two Zelda packs come with the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack. Switch 2 Edition content won't run on an original Switch, though the base game still does.

How to move from Switch to Switch 2

Use System Transfer during the Switch 2's first setup. Nintendo's support page offers two methods: locally, with both consoles side by side, or by uploading to Nintendo's server, which resets the old Switch and holds your data for up to a year. Users, digital games, screenshots and saves come across. You can't transfer from a Switch 2 back to a Switch.

Older Nintendo games on Switch 2

Switch 2's compatibility stops at the original Switch, so no Wii U or 3DS games. Older Nintendo games live in Nintendo Switch Online: NES, Super NES and Game Boy in the base plan, plus Game Boy Advance, Nintendo 64, Virtual Boy, Sega Genesis and, on Switch 2 only, GameCube with the Expansion Pack. We wrote about why that Nintendo Classics library matters more than it looks.

Which console is best for older games?

For old games on the console itself, Xbox Series X wins, with three generations of discs and downloads plus FPS Boost. PS5 is the best home for PS4 games, and Switch 2 for Switch games; both leave anything older to a subscription. None of it is guaranteed forever, as we argued in why game preservation can't depend on stores.

A library that spans four generations is also easy to lose track of. Perthro keeps one library across platforms: connect Steam, PlayStation and Xbox to bring your games in, and add Switch, retro and physical games by hand from IGDB's catalogue. The PS4 game you're finally replaying on PS5 sits in the same list as the Switch game you upgraded.

Backward compatibility in 2026: which older games play on PS5, Xbox Series X/S and Switch 2