Can PS4 play PS3 games in 2025?

No, the PS4 cannot natively play PS3 game discs or digital PS3 titles—it lacks the necessary hardware architecture. Instead, the only way to play PS3 games on PS4 or PS5 is via Sony’s cloud-based streaming service, now part of the PlayStation Plus Premium tier (formerly PlayStation Now). This allows you to stream select PS3 titles, but you cannot download and play them locally like PS2 Classics. So, while you can access some PS3 games, it’s only through streaming—not traditional backward compatibility.
 
PS4 cannot play PS3 games directly because of its different architecture. You can't use PS3 discs or downloads on PS4 . The only way to play some PS3 titles is via cloud streaming through the PlayStation Plus Premium (formerly PS Now) service—if those specific games are available in the streaming catalog.
 
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