If you have a round of Elden Ring or Stray penciled into your calendar this morning, it’s time to reschedule. Your PS5 has a new update to download and install. Luckily, it’s worth it—especially if you happen to own a 1440p monitor. Sony released System software 6.0 to PS5 owners on Wednesday, Sept. 7. The update comes with quite a few fun new features and changes for your PlayStation, but the highlight is undoubtedly 1440p support.
1440p gaming in general is growing in popularity. It offers higher resolution than 1080p, but is less demanding graphically than 4K gaming. The PS5 is more than capable of 4K, of course, and isn’t a modular system (everyone has the same hardware), but if you own a 1440p monitor, this update allows you to output natively to that display, offering a pixel-perfect gaming experience.
The caveat is that games need to support 1440p in order to output at this resolution. If a game doesn’t support 1440p, your PS5 takes its 4K resolution and downscales it to match your chosen 1440p output. Now that the feature is public, though, it’s likely more and more developers will add 1440p support to their games.
Another thing to keep in mind is Variable Refresh Rate isn’t available when you choose 1440p. VRR is still tied to 1080p or 4K, so if you prefer it, you’ll need to stick with those existing resolution options.
This isn’t the first time gamers have had a chance to play in 1440p on PS5, as Sony was testing the feature within its closed PlayStation beta. If you signed yourself up for the beta in the past, perhaps you’ve already tried out 1440p.
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What else is new in the PS5 System software 6.0 update
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While universal 1440p support is the big news of the day, it’s far from the only new feature coming to your PS5. Check out this list of changes Sony added to System software 6.0:
- Game Library now supports custom gamelists.
- You’ll now receive alerts when Game Help is available, either via your PS5 system or the PlayStation app.
- Game Base now supports requesting party members to start Screen Share.
- You can enter an on-going game from a new notification when you join a party.
- Press the options button on a new message to see the sender’s profile.
- Quickly see a new friend’s profile in Accepted Requests.
- Send stickers and voice messages to groups in the Game Base card.
- Game hub now shows in-progress activities at the top.
- [View Hints] button will appear in game hubs when Game Help is available.
- Labels like “Fast Play,” “High Score,” or “performance” now appear in Videos based on your recent gameplay, offering context to why those videos were recommended in the first place.
- The web browser now supports two zoom modes, “Zoom” (with layout adjustments) and “Magnify” (without layout adjustments).
- You’ll now find 3D audio settings under 3D Audio for TV Speakers and 3D Audio for Headphones in Settings > Sound.
- You can search for YouTube content using Voice Command.
- Screen reader now reads controller button shortcuts for on-screen buttons out loud.
- It’s easier to use your Mac or PC keyboard when playing via PS Remote Play, as the text entry box is now removed.
- Passcode input screen supports custom button assignments.
- Updates to DualSense wireless controller device software.
- Sony patched an issue that caused system software errors during rest mode.
[The Verge]