How to: Downgrade digital PS4 games to version 1.0 *updated*

If you’re not aware, when you purchase and download a game on PSN (or pretty much any system out there), the game you end up downloading is the pre-patched version so that you can jump right in with all the updates and bug-fixes present. However, this generation has seen a few games that have had post-launch patches to resolve performance issues which can technically now be ironed out with the advent of the new PlayStation 5 console. So, today I’ll be showing you how you can easily defy PSN and force your PS4 (and PS4 games on the PS5) to download version 1.0 of ANY digital PS4 game…

First things first – why would you want to do this? Well, aside from possibly making a game easier for obtaining trophies (No Mans Sky), or reverting to a pre-updated stage before a subsequent update broke obtaining certain trophies or erased your progress (Dirt 5), the main reason is to sacrifice bug fixes for an improved performance boost. For example, The Last Guardian v1.0 allows you to play the game at 1890p and 60fps, this was later patched to 30fps when they added HDR to make the experience more consistent as the framerate wasn’t the greatest. Similarly, Batman Return to Arkham (Arkham City) was 1080p and 60fps until it was patched to 30fps for the same reason, as was Assassin’s Creed Unity.

Until now, the only way you would be able to experience the boosted performance on the PS5 (all three of these examples will run at an almost locked 60fps on the PS5) would be to find and buy the disc version – I’m going to explain how to do this with a digital copy…

Revert to a pre-capped state! (Digital Foundry)

For clarity, this guide is a replication of one that PSNProfile user, ‘Mako’, posted HERE.

I’m only going to talk through one method as it’s the easiest and worked perfectly for me – the link above has two methods though, just in case you run into any issues. This method also requires you to download a free program and have a Windows PC on the same network as your PS4.

For this process you’ll need a program called PSX Helper, you can download it directly HERE (direct download) or via the GitHub page HERE. When you first load it up, the program is going to be in Chinese so you’ll want to press the big button which has a green circle on it, press ‘ok’ on the error message that pops up, click on the fifth tab, and then swap the language to ‘English’ within the only drop-down box on that page – once done, close and re-open the application.

Here are a few images from the guide which shows you the process…

Click the big button with the Green circle on it.

Click the fifth tab then the drop-down.

PS4 setup
Once you’ve opened up the ‘PSX Download Helper’ application, take note of the IP address and change the Port number from ‘8080’ to ‘8888’. The next thing you’ll want to do is customise your PS4 to allow the application to do its job. Go to Settings > Set up Internet > Custom (on your PS4) and just click next through your existing internet settings (Wired or Wi-Fi) until you get to the ‘Proxy’ Settings. In here you’ll want to enter the IP address which was in the application and also the port number (which should now be 8888).

Now, go back to the application and hit ‘Start’ followed by ‘ok’ to the error message that pops up – that’s it, you’re all done.

Go back to your PS4 and download any digital PSN game – it’ll download version 1.0 of the game and refuse to download any patches or updates. If you’ve already downloaded the game previously, you’ll have to delete the game and then re-download it. It’s strongly advised that you go to Settings > System > Automatic Downloads (on your PS4) and you disable them, but as long as you have the application running on your PC, the PS4 shouldn’t download any updates.

One thing to note, the application seems to stop working after a while, causing the PS4 to throw up an error on the download saying it can’t download anymore followed by an error code. If this happens, simply close the application on the PC and then re-open it and hit Start then Ok on the message. Then, go back to your PS4, press Options on the download and tell it to Resume – it’ll continue. 

PS5 vs PS4 Pro unlocked (NX Gamer)

I know this will only be applicable for a few games and it does mean you’ll have to sacrifice later updates and/or further enhancements such as HDR in The Last Guardian, but it allows you to use the next-gen console to fully boost the original code and unlock hidden 60fps modes on certain titles. I can only think of the three games I’ve mentioned above but if you know of any others, please put them in the comments below and I’ll test them out next week when my PS5 arrives.

On a similar note, there is a way you can force PSN to install certain patches, once you’ve locked the game onto version 1.0 digitally. I used this with Dirt 5 as 1.03 erased my progress so I had to manually downgrade the digital PSN version of the game to 1.02 so I could continue until the developers resolve the strange bug. Again, this would be great for obtaining trophies which certain patches may have broken. I’ll write that guide later this week as it may also be helpful. You can find my guide on how to do this, HERE

If you found this useful please share it around so people are aware that you can ‘technically’ play v1.0 of any PSN digital game, you don’t need the disc version as every single other website has stated over the last few days.