I’m looking for some official clarification because I’m getting conflicting information regarding console porting requirements.
I’m currently developing my game in Unity 2022 using the Built-In Render Pipeline. I was recently approved as a PlayStation Partner, and I am just about to pull the trigger on a Unity Pro subscription and order my PS5 DevKit.
However, before taking those final steps, I reached out to a porting company/publisher to get an estimate on how much a PS5-only port would cost. To my surprise, they told me that before anything else, I would be forced to migrate my project to Unity 6 and update my render pipeline. I reached out to a second publisher, and they told me the exact same thing.
My question is: Is this actually a hard technical requirement from Unity/Sony, or is this just a standard workflow preference from these porting studios?
I really want to avoid updating my engine version. My project relies heavily on specific assets that only work in the Built-In pipeline. Forced migration to Unity 6 and URP/HDRP right now would completely break my project and cause major delays.
Can anyone confirm if I can still successfully port and release a PS5 game using Unity 2022.3 LTS and the Built-In Render Pipeline?
I assume you got an NDA too?
Because you shouldn’t talk console porting details on open forums. Most of it is not allowed.
Unity has a closed portion of these boards specifically for consoles and their problems. Apply for membership and ask these questions there. You probably want to remove this thread too.
They may require this by principle because they learned that being stuck on an unsupported Unity version is troublesome. They may also want to be able to rely on getting support from Unity, which you no longer get for 2022.3 - it is out of support.
They may also no longer support BIRP because everyone in their team is accustomed to URP, and their tools may also depend on URP or Unity 6.
Technically, you can publish with BIRP and 2022. I’d say it’s a workflow preference, or the support issue.
You may also be fixed to a specific PS5 Devkit SDK version in case Sony stopped or will soon retire updates for older Unity versions.
The migration to Unity 6 won’t. Unless you actually tried, you cannot say that. Unity 6 still supports BiRP. The version update should be relatively straightforward barring any incompatible assets. Script API updates are typically not that big a deal.
I checked with AI and the problem really revolves around console SDK updates provided by Unity for any given version (usually 3-4 years) and Sony bumping their minimum SDK requirement every so often.
That means with 2022.3 LTS being > 3 years old, and out of public and Enterprise support, the chances are high that within the next 6-18 months this version will no longer be able to build and publish to PS3 due to no longer matching Sony’s minimum SDK requirement.
As a porting studio I would definitely avoid that situation where you may be updating a project for 6 months or so, only not to be able to release it or provide updates shortly after release unless you bring that project up to the next Unity version. This would only compound and complicate their effort when a Unity version update is mandated while they’re in the midst of porting it.
Hence they’ll likely want you to do the version lifting first, then they’re in a safe space where the project remains perfectly valid for publishing without requiring SDK/Unity updates for 2+ years minimum.
That’s my best assumption.
PS: I don’t think this question is potentially violating the Sony NDA, it doesn’t include obvious details or operations that should not be disclosed, though it could incite others to relay such information.
Thank you all so much for the detailed explanations and insights! This was incredibly helpful and clarified exactly what I needed to know.
Taking all this feedback into account, I am going to make a full backup of my project and attempt the upgrade to Unity 6 (while keeping the Built-In Render Pipeline) to see how the game handles the transition.
Regarding the NDA concern: I appreciate the heads-up and understand the caution! However, simply stating that I am an approved PlayStation partner and asking general questions about Unity engine versions and standard publisher workflows does not violate any confidentiality agreements. I am not disclosing any proprietary SDK details, devkit specifics, or internal Sony documentation here.
Thanks again to everyone who took the time to point me in the right direction!
