Sony has announced plans to release Community Game Help on PlayStation 5 later this year.
Community Game Help is described as a new “enhancement” for Game Help, “powered” by user-generated content.
Here’s how it works: in supported games, PS5 players will be able to contribute their gameplay, view hints from fellow gamers, or access Game Help hints created by developers. Game developers can also continue to create their own hint videos.
Players can currently press the PS button to open the Control Center and look for an Action Card with the “Hints inside” icon. Eventually, players will also see hints labeled “Community Game Help”, which indicates the clip was generated from other players’ gameplay footage. You can also rate the usefulness of these hints, which Sony said will let it curate informative help content for players.
In a PlayStation Blog post, Sabrina Meditz, senior director, product management, Platform Experience at Sony Interactive Entertainment, said Community Game Help will add to the current Game Help experience “by expanding the library of helpful game hints, incorporating videos that are automatically generated from gameplay footage of players who have opted in to contribute”.
“We hope to see many players participate in Community Game Help and share their amazing gameplay feats!”
Community Game Help will be available to all PS5 players, with or without a PlayStation Plus subscription, Sony added. You can opt in to contribute to Community Game Help from the Settings menu. You can also opt out at any time, which will remove all your published videos. Expect to see these settings in the next few months, Sony said.
Once you turn on the settings, your PS5 will automatically capture a video when you complete a certain activity in a game, Sony explained. Then, it will be reviewed by a moderator, and if approved, your video will be published as a Game Help hint for PlayStation players to watch and rate. Sony said your videos will be removed from the PS5 console once they are uploaded to its servers, so will not impact console storage. When your video is published, you will receive a system notification on your PS5 console.
This process will be done automatically, so you don’t need to edit or upload your clips for submission, Sony stressed. Only your raw game footage will be uploaded, so images and audio from your webcam, microphone, or party chat audio will not be shared with the moderator or the community. Depending on the game you’re playing, your video may include online IDs or chat messages that are shown on your game screen.
Community Game Help will start to become available in select games later this year, Sony said. The goal is to expand it to as many titles as possible in the future.
PS5 launched in November 2020 with the Game Help feature, which lets players access hints, tips, and walkthrough videos without having to leave the game. But it relies upon developers making the Game Help content. With Community Game Help, Sony is getting PS5 players to do the heavy lifting.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].