Sony Testing Discord Voice Chat on PlayStation 5 With Beta Users
A new PS5 system software beta has added Discord voice chat and variable refresh rate support for 1440p displays, among a number of other upgrades.
Announced on the PlayStation Blog, the new system software is available for beta participants in the US, Canada, Japan, UK, Germany and France. Its main feature is the addition of Discord voice chat, which allows cross-platform calls through the popular Discord system. Users will need to link their Discord and PlayStation Network accounts to use the service, then initiate a call on the Discord mobile app before transferring it to their console. It seems a bit more tedious than a standard PSN party, but will no doubt be welcome for those who play frequently with friends who are on Xbox and PC.
The other main feature of the beta update is variable refresh rate support for 1440p resolution displays. This allows for smoother visual performance when using a VR-capable HDMI 2.1 display, provided the game supports variable refresh rate. VRR can be enabled from your screen and video settings.
The new beta also provides a variety of small user experience-focused upgrades. These include the ability to share your screen directly from a friend’s profile card; a “Playing Friends” tile that shows who on your friends list is also playing the game you’re watching; a new manual upload function to send specific gameplay captures to the PS app; PS VR and PS VR2 filters for game library; a new PS5 to PS5 data transfer function (available via Wi-Fi or LAN); and a notification window for PS4 games that notifies you of any PS4 save data you have in the cloud.
There is also a limited US and UK version for video capture voice commands. This allows users to say “Hey PlayStation, capture that” to record a gameplay video clip. It’s the Xbox Kinect era again.
For more from the world of PlayStation, check out the games coming to PS Plus in February, as well as the news that the PS5 PS Plus Collection will be phased out entirely later this year.
Matt Purslow is IGN’s UK News and Features Editor.