As the PlayStation 5 release date draws nearer, Sony has revealed that PlayStation VR won't be compatible with new PS5 games. This means that games designed specifically to play on PS5 won't work with your existing PSVR headset.

In an interview with the Washington Post, PlayStation head-honcho Jim Ryan confirmed that PlayStation VR won't form a meaningful part of the PlayStation 5's ecosystem for the foreseeable future.

Will PlayStation VR Work With the PS5 at all?

The PlayStation VR headset hasn't exactly been the most popular PlayStation peripheral. According to Statista, of the 113 million PS4 owners (up to January 2020), only five million of them have bought into PSVR. That equates to only 4.4 percent of PS5 owners who were sold on the PlayStation's native VR platform.

However, those five million PSVR owners can breathe a half sigh of relief, as the PSVR headset will still work with the PS5, it is simply that none of the newly developed games will be supported. At least, not for the foreseeable future.

Any PS4 games that are backward-compatible with the PS5 will still work with the PlayStation VR headset and Move controllers, so at least the device won't be demoted to "expensive paperweight" status just yet.

Is Virtual Reality All But Dead on PlayStation?

PSVR headset and controls being used by a woman

So, is PSVR dead? That depends on how you look at it. Of course, any PS4 titles that you do play on the PS5 will be treated to Game Boost. This means that they are improved slightly when you play them on PS5 versus playing them on PS4.

Changes you will see include upscaled graphics and frame-rates, thanks to the power of Sony's next-gen. That said, they are still PS4 games so you will notice the difference. So what does this mean for PSVR?

Well, according to a statement sent by a Sony employee to UploadVR, it means that titles like PS4's Hitman 3, which makes use of PSVR, will still work with the virtual reality headset when played on the PlayStation 5, along with a range of the PlayStation's other backward-compatible major titles.

That same Sony employee has confirmed that, while PSVR will work with the PlayStation 5, there are no new PS5 games penciled in that will make use of the VR technology. So, no new PSVR games, then. At least, not right now.

PlayStation VR Won't Work on New PS5 Games

Despite "immersion" being one of the major buzzwords Sony has been using throughout its PlayStation 5 hype, it would seem that the console giant doesn't see PSVR having its own meaningful place within the PlayStation ecosystem.

Sure, Jim Ryan has hinted that virtual reality may well form part of the PlayStation family again at some point, but fans of the console shouldn't be holding out for new VR gear any time soon.

If you do own a PSVR headset then the good news is you can still use it, to a degree. Just don't expect to be enjoying any new PS5 titles with it for the time being.