After a little back, Sony has announced a beta release for the upcoming firmware update on PlayStation 5. Key features included some big changes to how the parties work, as well as the ability to install games and apps. Well, a firmware update – version 22.01-05.00.00 to be exact – is now available. The update size itself is just over 1 GB. The patch notes are quite large actually, so let’s go through all the major new features here.
First, yes, Game Base and the terminals have undergone an overhaul. Game Base is now split into three sections – Friends, Parties, and Messages – with Parties now referring to voice chats. The list of friends is now placed under the Friends tab for easy access, and friend requests and searches are also here. It also seems that it would be much easier to start sharing play with a group.
Six new languages are now supported with screen reader functionality, including Russian, Arabic, Dutch, Brazilian Portuguese, Polish and Korean. Ukrainian language support has been added in all areas.
Prizes have been given a renewed look, with prize cards and prize rolls given a more lively look. In addition, the trophy tracker can now suggest prizes for you to earn while playing a game.
Voice commands (preview) can now be enabled, allowing you to say “Hello, PlayStation” followed by a command. You can use this to start games or apps, control media playback, and more. This is only available in English for US and UK accounts, but we’re sure it will expand over time.
There is still a lot. In the Games Library, you can now filter by genre on the Your Collection tab. The PS Plus app is now pinned to the far left side of the Home screen for easy access. Speaking of installation, you can now pin up to five games or apps to the Home screen by highlighting an icon and selecting Keep in Home from the options menu. Also, the icon bar now allows three games or other apps to be displayed.
Oh, and one final note: the DualSense PS5 controller also has a software update, so be sure to update those controllers as well. The PS5 should notify you of this automatically after you install the PS5 firmware update.
Lots to research here, then! What are you looking forward to in this update? Tell us in the comments section below.
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