PlayStation 5 has released new firmware update with the widely requested Discord implementation to the hardware. PlayStation had originally added an account link early last year which only showed your Discord friends what you were playing on PlayStation. With the update now today, calls and chats are fully integrated and accessible on the PlayStation 5 system. To do so users will have to update the PlayStation 5 console to System Update 7.0 and then link their Discord app from their personal device to the PlayStation Network. Those who have previously linked their Discord will have to link them again due to the update.
The announcement of Discord coming to PlayStation came nearly 2 years ago where Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) made investment into Discord with president Jim Ryan stating then, “Together, our teams are already hard at work connecting Discord with your social and gaming experience on PlayStation Network.” That investment into Discord from Sony was also attempted to be purchased by Microsoft for $10 billion but the deal fell through. Last year on September 13th, Discord made its way to Xbox for the Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One in an update.
The PlayStation 5 firmware update 7.0 also comes with other numerous new features today. There’s now a variable refresh rate (VRR) support for 1440p displays, which requires a compatible HDMI 2.1 display connection to function. Voice commands are now available which lets users capture a screenshot and start a recording. The voice commands function seems to be early as it only works for capturing gameplay. According to PlayStation for the voice command to work a user might say, “Hey PlayStation, capture that!” and an image will be saved. There’s also specific settings to change the length of any recorded clip in the settings, or simply telling PlayStation, “Hey PlayStation capture the last 3 minutes.”
The game hub has also been updated again which now includes playtime and game progress. Game progress will only appear for supported titles, usually games that utilize the story card features and game tracking. Furthermore trophies for a respective game appear beneath alongside a “friends who play” tab.