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My PS4 has served me well over the years, but in the coming months I'll probably upgrade to the PS5. However, I'm not sure of the choice between the digital or disc edition. My main concern is: Can I still play my PS4 disc games on the PS5 digital edition?

I don't mind downloading the games, for example after entering the cd key, I just own a few titles that I'd like to keep playing after replacing my PS4.

MeanGreen
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    "I don't mind downloading the games, for example after entering the cd key" I've never seen a console game ship with a CD key, much less a PS4 game. What CD key are you talking about? At best they ship with download codes for DLCs or for other games (like how the P3D & P5D Endless Night Collection ships with a download code for P4D). – Nolonar Oct 26 '21 at 14:29
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    As my answer says, the answer is (mostly) no. However, I wanted to comment to say that even if you could, you should still get the disc edition PS5. You'll be able to borrow games from friends (who own a physical copy), buy pre-owned physical copies, and generally (based on the PS4 generation) physical copies drop in price after release considerably faster than digital copies of games, so if you're willing to wait some time after release to play games it can be a lot cheaper (and PS5 games are not cheap upon release). – Anthony Grist Oct 26 '21 at 21:25
  • The (temporary) downside is that with PS5 stocks still being relatively limited, and consoles difficult to get hold of (at least in the UK, I assume it's similar in other countries), this does potentially reduce your chances of getting a console in the first place. – Anthony Grist Oct 26 '21 at 21:27
  • I voted to reopen my question. The linked duplicate has a -2 score and no accepted answer. In my opinion the comments and answer on this question have higher quality. I propose to close the other question instead. – MeanGreen Oct 27 '21 at 06:36
  • @Nolonar You are right, there is no key. I assumed the games included keys, but I didn't bother to check. – MeanGreen Oct 27 '21 at 06:37
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    @MeanGreen the number of downvotes has no bearing on whether the question is a duplicate or not. The downvotes are likely because "can a console with no disc drive play disc games?" is a silly question with an obvious answer, however the answer in that duplicate post suffices, so your question will not be reopened. – nightsurfer Oct 27 '21 at 12:17

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In general, no. PS4 games don't have a "cd key" that you can enter to prove ownership, so there's no way to download a digital version without buying the game again. In order to play a game that you own a physical copy of you need to insert the disc into the console, which obviously you can't do with the digital edition PS5 console.

From the PlayStation Blog:

Since there is no disc drive, you won’t be able to play your PS4 disc-based games on the PS5 Digital Edition.

Depending on the specific games you want to keep playing, there may be an alternative option if you have a PS Plus subscription. The PS Plus Collection (see bottom of the linked page) contains a number of PS4 games which can be played for free on a PS5 console as part of the subscription.

Anthony Grist
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