PS5 New UI Update Also Brought Ads You Can’t Turn Off and Unwanted Forced News Feed to Select Titles
Just this month, Sony rolled out a new PS5 system firmware update that introduced the Welcome Hub alongside other features. One of good things about the Welcome Hub is that players can customize what they see in it, and you can even configure preferences that will prevent ads from showing up.
However, it seems there is a limitation to that, as even if you opt out of ads, you will still see various news related items cluttering your dashboard that are either ads, or basically what Sony wants you to see.
Based on our testing, it indeed does happen. One example is Horizon, and hovering over it shows an ad for LEGO Horizon Adventures:
The ad also make sit confusing a bit, as based on the screenshot above, it looks like you’re playing LEGO Horizon Adventures and not the actual Horizon game we’re on.
It seems players will see will be different based on each game. So it can be an ad for one game, and maybe a news bit for another one. Here’s what Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 will look like based on our captured image:
As you can see, there is a video being promoted by Sony. While this is a first-party feature from the company, it is still an ad.
There is a way to turn it off, but it’s probably not something you want to do. Now for those wanting to get their original backgrounds, the only method that we’ve been able to discover is by disconnecting from the internet entirely, as it will no longer force the news feed onto your console. This will give you access to those original backgrounds again, though obviously you can’t play online anymore until you reconnect again.
Based from our understanding, there is no way to control this or remove it completely while playing online.
Note that this is something gamers have noticed as well, and have aired out about it recently too.
So it turns out that the recent PS5 UI update that let you disable all the advertisements on the dashboard was too good to be true. Now EVERY SINGLE GAME on your homescreen shows you an advertisement in the background with no way to remove them lol https://t.co/Nts6eCq8Eb pic.twitter.com/29p56mYn34
— Earl Turlet (@alfredobofa) September 29, 2024
Apparently, it’s not ads per se, but it seems like the official news feed of the games that Sony has is what shows up. This is made evident in another “ad” that shows an outdated content drop:
Just noticed this too, it came out of nowhere post update.
The funniest part? Suicide Squad and probably a lot of other devs/games drop the PS5 news updates shortly after launch; so instead of the season’s New Character splash art, it’s.. a 7 month old news feed article? pic.twitter.com/t78Ze6fg1W
— ReptileHand (@ReptileHand) September 29, 2024
This isn’t just for third-party titles, as even Sony’s own Gran Turismo 7 features it too (it’s showing players a game update that was released three months ago).
This has to be a bug. Right?
— Prowlitz (@Prowlitz) September 29, 2024
Prior to this Welcome screen update, console owners could control what games they followed in terms of news feed, which would be displayed on the explore tab (now replaced with the Welcome tab). The function to opting out of following games does still exist, via hitting the three dots options next to the “Play Game” button on each individual game. However, whereas before the function would stop displaying that particular game’s news feed in the explore menu, it appears to do nothing here, as regardless if you follow a game for news or not, the system will still display the feed over the title’s original background.
Update (Sept.30): Sony has announced that this was apparently a “bug” and has since been resolved. We’ll be monitoring it and will provide updates if needed.
A tech error with the Official News feature on the PS5 console has since been resolved. There have been no changes to the way game news is displayed on PS5.
— Ask PlayStation (@AskPlayStation) September 30, 2024
Related Reading:
- PS5 New Adaptive Controller Charging Feature Added in Latest Update Only Available in Slim & PS5 Pro; Gamers Unhappy About It
- Sony Says They’re Cultivating a Corporate Gaming Culture Emphasizing DE&I
- How to Customize the PS5 Welcome Hub to Have Widgets Lined at the Bottom to Let You See Your Wallpaper Better
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F**king c**ts.
I don’t want notifications or news feeds or any of the other anxiety feeding constant bombardment of information I have no control over. I want to turn on my console and play a fucking game. Leave me alone
Not a single one of the games I have installed have this going on and several of them are in this article. Not a single one on my PS5 does this. Just the normal game image.
Yeah, I just came here to say the same thing. I have none of this happening, I even just went to system update to make sure I’m fully up to date and I am. Sounds like it’s a bug.
I’m not seeing any of these “ads” on my game tabs when scrolling through. I’m definitely up to date too.
Why does that ad say May the Fourth (aka Star Wars Day?) on an update that came out on September.
That’s 8 months away.