Since its launch in 2020, the PlayStation 5 has received a series of firmware updates from Sony aimed at enhancing performance and delivering an improved gaming experience. As anticipation builds for the release of the PlayStation 5 Slim, reportedly bundled with two best-selling games, Sony has recently rolled out another firmware update for the original PlayStation 5 console.
This latest update, labeled version 23.02-08.20.02, made its debut on November 8. Weighing in at 851 MB, it’s notably smaller than some of its predecessors. The compact size fueled speculation about the update being a minor enhancement, especially given that Sony initially kept its purpose under wraps.
However, the company has since clarified that the update is geared towards “improving system performance,” offering players an optimized gaming environment on the original PlayStation 5 console. Given that PlayStation 5 users are not mandated to install it, we doubt the update makes any significant change to the console’s performance.
Sony’s last update before version 23.02-08.20.02 arrived last month and brought several major changes to the console. It introduced a two-column layout in the control center that allowed users to browse through different music categories, songs, and playlists.
The update also eliminated the accidental broadcast of PSVR2 players’ surroundings during a gameplay session, which sounds like quite the privacy issue, and improved the console’s messages feature for players.
Compared to this, the new version’s stated purpose that it “improves system performance” is vague, especially since many users who installed it didn’t notice any difference following the installation. Because of this, some fans have speculated the update’s true goal is to shore up the console’s security and prevent exploitation from malicious actors.
Regardless of what the new update does, PlayStation 5 users have been clamoring for an update that supports dynamic themes, similar to the PlayStation 4. Unfortunately, the company hasn’t heeded that call yet. Fans are hoping it happens at some time in the near future.
Speaking of updates, Sony recently announced it will be eliminating support for X (formerly Twitter) on the PS4 and PS5 consoles from November 13 – fans should expect yet another update in the coming days for this purpose.
Furthermore, two of the three Deep Earth Collection covers for the PlayStation 5 are now available for purchase. While they won’t allow you to change the look of the PS5 home menu, they will certainly help with providing a new aesthetic for your console.
Also, Sony has finally launched the PlayStation 5 cloud streaming service in the United States after successful rollouts in Japan and Europe. The service is only available to PlayStation Plus Premium subscribers and will make gaming more accessible than ever before for gamers starting with PlayStation 5 users.
