PS5 Beta Gets New Party Chat Options; Voice Commands, Accessibility Improvements Added

Sony is beta testing additional customization possibilities for PlayStation 5 users, on the basis of players' feedback. Sony will release the second PlayStation 5 system software beta today and new party chat options, game base improvements, accessibility choices, and UI elements are all included.

New Party Chat Options For PS5 Customers

Sony unveiled the new features coming to the PlayStation 5 on the PlayStation Blog. Sony announced that the PS5's Parties system has been updated. Players can now host an open party for all of their friends to see and participate in, or a closed party for only the players they invite.

Players on the PlayStation 4 will be able to regulate the volume of each person in a party's voice chat, which is already available on the PlayStation 5.

Gamers in the United States and the United Kingdom will be able to test a sample of voice commands for swiftly searching and accessing games and apps as part of the latest beta for Sony's PS5 system software. According to the company, voice commands can also be used to control media playback.

Gamers can start using voice commands on their PlayStation 5 by enabling the Voice Command (Preview) setting and saying, "Hey PlayStation." The feature is only available in English and sends some audio to Sony, which may be turned off in the settings.

Better Accessibility For PS5 Users

PS5 users will also benefit from accessibility enhancements, including support for six new Screen Reader languages: Russian, Arabic, Dutch, Brazilian Portuguese, Polish, and Korean, bringing the total number of languages supported to 15. According to Sony, gamers with unilateral hearing loss will be able to use mono audio on their headphones instead of stereo or 3D audio.

As part of the impending beta release, Sony has improved the PlayStation 5 Game Base, giving gamers access to three new sections: Friends, Parties, and Messages. The user experience has also been improved, with the ability to filter by genre, support for up to 14 games and apps on the home screen, and the ability to pin up to five games and apps with a "Keep in Home" button.

Gamers who wish to try out the PS5 beta system software can sign up on the PlayStation website, and if they are approved, they will be notified when the beta version is released. On the PlayStation website, users of previous-generation consoles can join up to try out the PlayStation 4 beta system software.

Sony has stated that a few of the features being tested may not be present in the final version, which will be released to all users later this year.