Sony has announced they’re working on a Power Saver feature for the PlayStation 5. As shared in their latest update on the PlayStation Blog, this option will let supported games run with less power.
Shuzo Kikuchi, the VP of product management at Sony Interactive Entertainment, explained that activating Power Saver will result in games scaling back their performance, which in turn will lower the console’s energy use. But keep in mind, if a game doesn’t support this feature or if it’s not turned on, the usual performance and power usage will remain unchanged.
What does “scaled-back performance” mean, exactly? Well, it looks like VR mode won’t work, and certain gameplay elements might be limited as well—that’s a definite change, and there’s some ambiguity regarding what this means on a game-to-game basis.
This new feature is part of Sony’s broader efforts outlined in their 2010 Road to Zero environmental project. However, players will have to trade some gaming performance for reduced energy consumption. This talking point naturally leads to speculations about Sony’s rumored handheld PS5, which could really benefit from such a power-saving mode, especially for gaming on the go.
In addition to the Power Saver mode, this upcoming PS5 system beta will also allow users to connect their DualSense controllers to multiple devices at once—a huge upgrade! Before, players had to reconnect each time they switched devices, but now up to four devices can be paired, letting players seamlessly switch between their PC, Mac, and smartphones for a smoother gaming experience.
This new PS5 system beta will be available to a limited number of invited users in certain countries—but fear not, as Sony plans to roll it out to everyone worldwide in the coming months.
If you’re lucky enough to be chosen for the beta, expect an email from Sony by Thursday, July 24, guiding you on how to participate in this testing phase.
