Sony has announced numerous features heading to the next PS5 system software beta in a recent blog post, including the long-awaited Discord integration. In May 2021, Sony and Discord announced a partnership and PS5 gamers will finally be able to join a Discord voice chat using their console when the feature goes live. For now, it’ll be restricted to the beta and invited participants will receive an email with instructions on how to download the beta and get started.
Along with Discord voice chat integration, the latest beta is also testing Variable Refresh Rate support for 1440p resolution, another feature PS5 owners have been waiting for. Gamers will need a VRR-compatible HDMI 2.1 display at 1440p resolution and obviously a game that supports VRR.
Sony also detailed a list of UX, accessibility, and social feature enhancements that are being tested. Some of those include being able to send a Share Screen request or sharing your screen with a friendly directly from their profile. There is also a new “Join Game” icon in party chats and a new “Friends Who Play” tile, that will let you know which of your friends own a particular game and who is currently playing that game.
Users will also be able to manually upload game captures to the PS App from the console, so they can easily be shared on social media or with friends. Of course this doesn’t get rid of the auto-upload functionality that already exists.
New accessibility features include making it easier to migrate PS4 saved data to the PS5 and transferring data from one PS5 to another PS5, improvements to the screen reader, and the ability to update the DualSense controller wirelessly.
One feature that’s currently limited to the U.S. and U.K. markets is an English voice command to save video clips of your gameplay. Users can simply say, “Hey PlayStation, capture that!” to save a video clip of their recent gameplay. You can even specify the duration of gameplay to record with the voice command, from 15 seconds to 60 minutes by saying “Hey PlayStation, capture the last 60 minutes.”
Personally I’m most excited about finally having Discord chat integrated with the PlayStation 5. This will allow me to communicate with friends who are at their PCs, while I play on my PlayStation 5 without needing to use my PC’s wireless headset.
