New PlayStation 5 Beta Adds Extra Party Chat Options, Game Base Enhancements, UI Changes, And More

A new PlayStation 5 beta has been revealed and it brings new options to things like party chat, game base, the console’s user interface, and more. 

This beta, which kicks off today for those who have signed up for PlayStation’s beta program, is the PS5’s second and it’s only available to those in the U.S. and U.K. Of course, since this is just a beta, it doesn’t necessarily mean the rest of the world will see these options. Considering the test-like nature of this beta program, there’s the possibility that participants don’t like everything they see, which might cause PlayStation to change some things up. The future will be interesting, but only time will tell. 

In the meantime, here’s what you can expect in this new PS5 beta: 

New Party Chat options

• Both Open and Closed Parties for PS5 and PS4 Betas
• Update to Voice Chat Reporting: To make it easy to identify who said what, you can now report to your party members using new indicators. 
• Share Play update: Share Play is now available via voice chat. 
• Voice chat volume: (PS4 beta). You can now adjust the volume for individual members of your party.

PS5 Game Base Enhancements

• Voice chats have been renamed to “parties” and now Game Base has been divided into three tabs: Friends, Parties, and Messages. 
• The Game Base menu now allows you to view all your friends. You can also add players or create new groups directly in Game Base. 
• When someone in a party is sharing their screen, you’ll now see a special “On Air” icon.
• It’s now easier to decline friend requests because a new “Decline” button has been added. 

New PS5 Interface Features

• Your game collection can be filtered by genre.
• You can now keep games or apps of your choosing on the Home screen by choosing the “Keep in Home” option via the Options button. 
• This new feature allows you to keep up to five apps and games on your home screen. 
• There are now 14 apps and games that you can have on your homescreen. 
• Updated visual design for trophy cards and trophy lists.
• You can create a Share Screen from the Create menu and stream your game to an open party. 

New accessibility features

• Screen Reader languages were added to the list.
• For headphones, mono audio is available.
• Enabled settings have check marks. 

Voice Command (Preview).

• PlayStation has tested a voice command feature to allow you to open and close apps and games as well as control media playback using the PS5 console. 

And that’s everything you can expect in this beta if you’re participating in it. 

Do you feel excited by any of these new features? Please let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.