PlayStation 5 system update quietly makes seriously controversial change

PlayStation 5 gamers are unhappy with how Sony has seemingly plastered ads all over the console home screen.

The home screen of the PlayStation 5 isn't the prettiest thing to look at right now, especially as we’re still waiting for the arrival of dynamic themes, something that has been present since the PS3. However, this week, that home screen has become a little more unpleasant to look at.

Check out the LEGO Horizon Adventures trailer below!

Nobody likes seeing ads plastered across our console home screen, something that Microsoft has implemented on Xbox in the past and now it’s apparently crept onto PlayStation.

As reported by Push Square, instead of showing snazzy artwork when hovering over a game icon, users were recently greeted with ugly ads related to the game, most of which were very outdated.

Elsewhere, IGN reported that LEGO Horizon Adventures appeared when hovering over Horizon Zero Dawn, almost as if you were about to play the game that’s released next month on 14 November, and patch notes appeared for games such as Black Myth: Wukong.

In response to fan backlash, in a now-deleted tweet, PlayStation’s senior product manager Daniel Hiatt told those angered by the ads on Twitter to “settle down” and blamed a bug that came with a recent firmware update.

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

Thankfully at least, this bug that was seemingly promoting past and upcoming events has now been fixed and shouldn't be appearing on our PS5 home screens as confirmed via the Twitter account Ask PlayStation.

That being said, a part of me remains sceptical that this could have been Sony testing the water and the excuse of it being a bug was an easy get-out clause. I guess only time will tell if we see ads return on PlayStation 5 in the coming months.

We’ll, of course, keep you posted should ads make an unwelcome return in the future.