Sony confirms that no, the DualShock 4 controller that’s the staple of the PS4 will not work with PS5 games. Note that they will still work with PS4 games played on the PS5, but that’s beside the point.

The old DualShock 4, now soon to be obsolescent.
RIP DualShock 4, we will miss you.

Sony: “”You! Shall Not! Pass!”

The DualShock 4 has been the mainstay of the PS4 since 2013. Unfortunately, it looks like it’s going to get the axe when the PS5 rolls around. In a recent announcement on their PlayStation Blog, Sony answered a couple of questions about the PS5. One of those questions was “Will DualShock 4 work with PS5 games?”. The answer turned out to be a disappointing “No.”. So much for backwards compatibility.

Darth Vader is most displeased by the DualShock 4 news.
Darth Vader was seriously ticked at the PS4 for that.

According to Sony, they believe that PS5 games, they believe that “PS5 games should take advantage of the new capabilities and features [they’re] bringing to the platform, including the features of DualSense wireless controller”. So yeah, apparently those features are mandatory, not optional. So sorry about you folks who bought a few DualShock 4 controllers independent of the PS4. When the PS5 comes out, they’re going to be slightly obsolete.

DualSensational.
The shiny new controller of the future.

The good news here is that the PS5 will be backwards compatible with PS4 games. Physical PS4 game discs can even insert into and will work on the PS5. So your DualShock 4 controllers won’t be entirely useless. This is in stark contrast to the PS4. Remember when you found out that your brand new PS5 couldn’t play any of your library of PS3 games? Yeah, that sucked big time. It’s a really good thing Sony learned from that fiasco. At least, in part.

The moment when Sony decided to make PS3 game unplayable on the PS4.
PS5 still wins here.

Note that the PlayStation Camera and most PS4 accessories will also work on the PS5, so that’s nice.

Conclusion

The DualShock 4 controller will not work on the PS5, at least for the PS5 exclusive games. Don’t sell your PS4 controllers when you get your PS5 though. They will still work on PS4 games, and the PS5 is backwards compatible with them. It might be a good idea to retain a few for those gaming parties when you pull out an old PS4 game for the occasion.

Source: PlayStation.Blog