Five years ago, in November 2020, PlayStation 5 marked a new era of speed, immersion, and creativity. As we celebrate its fifth anniversary, we’re looking back at how PS5 has evolved – year by year – through system software updates, new accessories, and community milestones that continue to redefine play.
2020: The beginning of a new generation
The PS5’s launch in November 2020 redefined what a console could do. Powered by an ultra-high-speed SSD, immersive 3D Audio, and the innovative DualSense wireless controller, PS5 introduced a new generation of immersion never felt before in gaming.
- Share Screen debuted, allowing players to watch friends’ gameplay in real time via PS5 and later on the PS App. Since launch, Share Screen has been used more than 1.6 billion times, totaling over 900 million hours. Top shared titles include Fortnite, Roblox, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, and Grand Theft Auto V.
- Accessibility has been at the heart of PS5 since day one. The console launched with 11 accessibility features, which has grown to 20 by 2025 – including new additions such as Accessibility Tags and Second Controller for Assistance. One out of every four PS5 users have enabled at least one of these accessibility features.
- Every PS5 console and accessory features microtextured PlayStation shapes – on DualSense alone, there are 45,674 tiny triangles, circles, crosses, and squares.
2021: Expanding the experience
As the PS5 player base grew, so did the platform’s capabilities. 2021 focused on updates that expanded social connectivity and storage options:
- The first major PS5 system update added Cross-generation Share Play, enabling PS5 players with PlayStation Plus membership to virtually ‘pass the controller’ to friends using PS4. Since launch, Share Play has been used over 700 million times on PS5.
- M.2 SSD storage expansion gave players freedom to grow their libraries. The use of an industry-standard M.2 format provided a flexible and cost-efficient way to expand PS5 storage, and the feature has since been adopted by millions of players.
- We also added the ability to share PS5 game captures through the PlayStation App, resulting in 5.6 billion captures uploaded. Today, nearly half of PlayStation messages are sent from the PS App, with more than 1 billion voice chat sessions taking place through the app.
- 2021 also introduced PS5’s first color variations – Midnight Black and Cosmic Red, giving players more ways to customize their console and accessories in their favorite color.
2022: More Options, More Ways to Play
In 2022, PS5 evolved further to deliver a richer and more personalized play experience.
- VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) enhanced visual performance by minimizing visual artifacts for smoother, crisper gameplay. Millions of players have enabled the feature, with 96% of those with VRR-compatible monitors using it regularly.
- This was also the year PlayStation Plus introduced a new three-tier service, offering hundreds of games in the Game Catalog for Extra members and Deluxe/Premium members, as well as access to a Classic Game catalog for Premium members. Since launch, the number of unique catalog players has doubled, and the total gameplay hours for Game Catalog and Classic Catalog has also increased – cumulatively hitting 14 billion hours.
- PS5 personalization expanded further with new galaxy-inspired color variations: Nova Pink, Starlight Blue, and Galactic Purple.
2023: Pushing the boundaries of play with new accessories
2023 was a year of more breakthrough hardware and innovation.
- PlayStation VR2 launched, introducing next-generation immersion with eye tracking, headset feedback and deep immersion with haptic feedback and adaptive triggers through PlayStation VR2 Sense Controller.
- Discord voice chat arrived on PS5, connecting players across platforms. Since launch, more than 1 billion Discord voice chat sessions have taken place on PS5, averaging 105 minutes per session.
- PlayStation Portal remote player redefined remote play, now accounting for over 50% of all PS5 Remote Play sessions – surpassing streams through mobile, PC, PS4 and PS5 consoles combined.
- We also introduced DualSense Edge wireless controller – our first high-performance, ultra-customizable controller – and the Access Controller, a controller kit designed to make gaming more accessible for all.
- Cloud Streaming access for PS5 games brought new options for PlayStation Plus Premium members to stream supported PS5 digital games from Game Catalog, Game Trials and purchases from PS Store on their PS5 console.
- Additionally, we released a new line of audio products featuring planar magnetic drivers and our innovative PlayStation Link technology that provides lightning-fast, lossless audio connection with Pulse Explore wireless ear buds, followed by Pulse Elite wireless headset in early 2024.
2024: Empowering players and communities
In 2024, PS5 deepened community connection and personalization.
- Community Game Help debuted, enabling players to share gameplay hint videos generated from opt-in contributors. The feature is now available across hundreds of PS5 titles, with thousands of helpful community hints contributed by players around the world.
- The new Welcome Hub introduced a personalized PS5 home screen space with customizable widgets and backgrounds. Customization has been rising since launch, with the battery widget emerging as the most popular, and personal gameplay screenshots becoming the top background choice among players.
- This was also the year we launched the PS5 Pro – our most visually impressive and innovative console to date, along with the PlayStation 30th Anniversary Collection, celebrating 30 incredible years of play and creativity.
2025: Five years of play
Happy 5th Anniversary, PS5! As we celebrate five years of the amazing journey, the numbers tell the story:
- PS5 has cumulatively sold over 84 million units globally. If you lined up every PS5 ever sold, together they’d stretch over 28,600 kilometers – long enough to go from Tokyo to San Francisco to London, and then all the way back home again.
- More than 7,500 PS5 games have been published by over 4,000 creators around the world. By total playtime, the top three most-played PS5 multiplayer games were Fortnite, Grand Theft Auto V, and Call of Duty Modern Warfare II and the top three PS5 most-played single-player games were Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, God of War Ragnarök and Hogwarts Legacy.
- Players have earned a combined 40 billion Trophies on PS5, including 110 million Platinum Trophies.
- Across five years, PS5 players have logged a total of 100 billion hours of gameplay.
Five years on, the PS5 platform continues to evolve and connect more players than ever. From the day it launched to today, PS5 has redefined what play can mean for creators and the community alike.
Here’s to five incredible years of play – and to the millions of players who made them unforgettable!
*All figures are based on internal data collected as of September 2025.
