It’s a good day for PlayStation 5 owners with way too many games installed on their consoles.
The latest system software update is out for the PS5 and it introduces a couple of big new features for folks who play on gaming monitors or simply need to clean up their system menus. Yes, 1440p support is here and so are folders. A more comprehensive list of changes from the beta for this update is on the PlayStation Blog, but let’s break down all of the most important new features.
The best new features in the September PS5 update
1440p support
If you have a regular TV, you’re probably wondering what this “1440p” business is all about. Put simply, it’s a high-definition resolution standard that’s mostly found in PC monitors. It sits between what we normally think of as HD (1080p) and 4K (2160p). With this new PS5 update, you can set your system-level resolution to 1440p, if that’s what’s best for the display you play games on.
Chances are a lot of gamers won’t need this option, but those who prefer to play on a 1440p monitor for whatever reason will now be able to get the most out of the experience.
Gamelists
This is where gamelists will live.
Credit: PlayStation
Another new feature that will probably get more use from the PS5-owning populace is “gamelists,” a PlayStation-specific term for what we’d call “folders” anywhere else.
It seems simple enough to set these up. Go to your game collection at the far right edge of the system menu carousel, then tab over to “Your Collection.” From there, hit “Create Gamelist” and you’ll be able to add up to 100 games, and name the list whatever you want. You can make as many as 15 of these folders, so gamers who love sorting inventories will have a lot of work to do once they install this update.
New party features
The newest, most annoying button in the PS5 menu.
Credit: PlayStation
The latest PS5 update also adds a couple of small, but eminently useful features for those who like to party up with their homies on game nights. First up is the ability to request screen sharing from the party menu. If you’re in a party with someone who is playing a game, highlight their username and hit the “Request Share Screen” button to get the ability to watch a direct feed of their gameplay. It’s like a personal Twitch stream from one of your buds.
The second nice addition to parties is that when you party up with someone who is playing a game that allows friends to join in, you’ll automatically get a notification asking if you want to join. For example, if your friend booted up Fortnite before turned on your PS5 and you party up with them, you’ll be able to launch into their in-game group right from the system menu.
There are also a couple of other additions in this PS5 update, like the ability to test out the difference between stereo audio and 3D audio, and voice searching in the YouTube app. 1440p support is nice for the subset of players who need it, and gamelists will make it much easier for organized people to find what they’re looking for.
Personally? I can’t wait to annoy my friends by constantly hitting that “request Share Screen” button.
