PS5 Beta Introduces Discord Voice Chat, VRR Support for 1440p, Variety of UX and Social Feature Enhancements

PS5 Beta

Sony has pushed a new PS5 system software beta update for testers that will now let players join Discord voice chats with PlayStation Network and Discord friends on their PlayStation 5. To access it, you need to link your PlayStation Network and Discord accounts and then use the PlayStation App on mobile or computer to connect to the console. Among other features, the latest PS5 beta update adds Discord voice chat and Variable Refresh Rate support for 1440p resolution and also a variety of UX, accessibility and social feature enhancements.

The latest beta update is currently available to a limited number of PS5 owners in the US, Canada, Japan, UK, and Germany, and will roll out to all users once it’s officially released.

Variable Refresh Rate for 1440p screens

You can now play VRR games on HDMI 2.1 displays at a resolution of up to 1440p with a smoother visual performance. This is particularly useful for games that support VRR and aren’t running natively at 4K, or those that require supersamples at a higher resolution to maintain a consistent framerate.

There is also some updates made to the parameters of the PS5 console’s 1440p output test, to bring 1440p support for a wider range of HDMI displays.

  • To check if your HDMI device is compatible, go to [Settings] > [Screen and Video] > [Video Output] > [Test 1440p Output].

Game Lists and Filtering

The update also adds game lists to the PS5 dashboard, which let you sort your disc, digital and streaming games into up to 15 groups, effectively acting as folders for your game library. This is a handy feature for quickly finding games you want to play, or adding those you know you’ll be playing soon to a list for easy access later.

Start or request a screen share from your friend’s profile

In party chats, new “Join Game” icons are displayed for party members that are currently playing a game with an online friend. You can join them by selecting their profile and then clicking on the “Join Game” icon.

More details on PlayStation 5’s UX improvements

Other quality-of-life features include a new “Friends who play” tile in game hubs, which show the number of friends that own a particular title, are online and playing it, and who is currently playing. There’s also the option to manually upload game captures from the console to the PlayStation App for sharing on social media, which is a great addition.

Kindly note that Discord voice chat on PS5 is only available for those enrolled in the PS5 System Software Beta Program.

  • After you installed the PS5 beta software, grab your DualSense controller and go to Settings > Users and Accounts > Linked Services. Here, you’ll find a new option to link your Discord account.
  • Now, the process of linking your account for PlayStation Network to your Discord account will begin.
  • Now, you will get two options to link your account: Either use the QR code shown to sign in using your phone’s camera app, or select “Use Browser” on the PS5 to sign in using the console’s internet browser. It is recommended that you use the QR Code scanner as it’s super-quick to use!
  • That’s it, now, you can voice chat with your Discord friends on your PS5, no matter what platform they’re on.

For full details on the new features added in the latest PS5, you can check out the official PlayStation blog here.