Sony has finally shared a look at one of the last and most important pieces of the PlayStation 5 puzzle: its user interface. In a new video, Platform Planning & Management lead Hideaki Nishino gives us our first official look at the PS5’s UI, which was designed from the ground up for 4K displays. The UI switches out the barren blue that dominates Sony’s previous menus with a glimmery aesthetic, hearkening back to the PS3 generation. Icons and content thumbnails have also been updated with a sleek, rounded look for a cleaner feel.
A good portion of the video is spent showcasing how the UI functions during a game. Sid Shuman (Senior Director, Global Content Communications) fires up Sackboy: A Big Adventure to demonstrate a few major new features, such as an updated Control Center and Activities. The former allows immediate access to various parts of the UI, while the latter comprises cards that let players jump to different sections of a game – a handy trick for easing challenges such as trophy achievements.
“Activities are displayed via on-screen cards in the Control Center, which enables you to discover new gameplay opportunities, go back to things you missed, jump directly into levels or challenges you want to play, and much more,” Nishino elaborated. “Some Activity cards can be put in picture-in-picture mode, so you can view them without having to leave the game.”
“Navigating the interface, switching between games, and hopping into online matches occurs quickly, as we rebuilt the entire software stack from the console to the network to bring you a truly next-generation experience,” he added. “We believe the less time you spend waiting to interact with the system, the more time you will have to spend playing games.”
The PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 Digital Edition will be released on November 12. Sony has warned that the UI shown off today is still in “pre-production,” but it seems to look pretty good so far.