Invites are reportedly going out in some regions for a new PS4 System Software beta being hosted by Sony. News has been shared in Japan that these invites confirm that PS4 Update 8.00 is being worked on for PlayStation consoles and that it is now available to some console owners to download. From what has been shared so far by those who have reportedly signed up, Sony is looking to tweak how Party features by expanding past the current options available.
And it appears that there are a lot of things that could be changed with the release of the new PS4 update.
This could make it one of the last major System Software updates for the PS4, with the PlayStation 5 release just months away.
It will be up to Sony how they choose to handle supporting the PS4, which has become one of the best selling-consoles of all time.
Sony will no doubt want to carry on support for it and may even have a few new features to throw in during 2021.
But there will be no guarantee of any major changes following the release of the PS5 later in 2020.
This new console will become the focus of Sony, who will want to encourage players to migrate from their current game consoles to its new version.
According to a changelog being shared online, the new PS4 beta is looking to make big changes to how Party features work on PS4.
This includes making it easier to continue earlier groups within the party menu, while also making it possible to send message between those who were part of the group.
Judging from the Changelog posted by MP1ST, Sony’s next PS4 update will be a big one.
You can find a full list of patch notes below for the Playstation 4 System Software 8.00 update
The following changes have been made to Party and Messages
- When starting a party, you can now choose to create a new group or select an existing group. When you create a new group, it’ll be saved even after the party has ended. You can start a new party with the same members by selecting the group that you previously created.
- You can now use your group across party and messages. you can send messages to a group you created for a party, or start a party with a group you’ve messaged with.
- Messages have been added to the screen during parties. When you select messages, you’ll see the messages exchanged between members of your group.
- The public/private settings for parties have been removed. Only members of the group can join the party.
- You can now change your party settings from the options menu that displays on the screen when you select party. You can also manage your party connection settings when you select [Party Voice Chat Cnnection], which has been added to the party settings.
- Members of your party can now see when your mic is muted.
- You can now join parties even if there are members that you’ve blocked. When you join a party with a blocked member, or when a blocked member joins the party, you’ll receive a notification. During the party, you won’t hear each other, and the game you’re playing, as well as your Share Play status, won’t be displayed. In addition, the blocked member won’t be notified that you’ve blocked them.
- Play Together sessions can no longer be started during a party. For online multiplayer games, you can start a game session within the game.
- The PlayStation 4 8.00 firmware will also bring some changes to parental controls.
The following changes have been made to parental controls.
- Communicating with other players and viewing content created by other players have been combined and are now communication and user-generated content. If you’ve selected “Not Allowed” for either of the settings, the same setting will transfer after the update.
- The PlayStation 4 system software 8.00 will also include the ability to mute all microphones through the quick menu and some screen design changes for select features.
Other updated features:
- Mute all microphones has been added to the quick menu under sound/devices. This setting mutes all microphones connected to your PS4.
- The following changes have been made for communities
- You can no longer create parties from the Community area. You’ll need to create a group in a party.
- You can no longer create a new even in Events – Events created before the update will still be held, and events and tournaments hosted by game developers will continue to take place.
- For some features, the content displayed on the screen has changed, as well as the screen design.