The PS5 homescreen now replaces unique video game art with annoying ads you can't turn off

The PlayStation 5 now has an advertising system built into the dashboard interface, which you can't turn off without disconnecting from the internet.

Users have noticed that hovering over a video game icon on the homepage now causes an ad to replace the unique image – as close to a theme as the PS5 gets.

What appears to be happening is that the PS5 is pulling in the latest news for each game, be it a YouTube video, patch notes, or even the announcement of a completely different game.

However, some users have criticized the fact that the main video game images on the homepage have been replaced by partially outdated ads.

IGN's testing shows that the latest Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 promotional video released by publisher Focus Entertainment has replaced protagonist Titus' art in the homescreen background.

Black Myth: Wukong, meanwhile, forces an image that hints at the latest patch notes.

And Call of Duty is promoting The Haunting Season 6 update.

Other users have reported particularly confusing ads. MP1st showed how when you select Horizon Zero Dawn, an ad for the upcoming Lego Horizon Adventures fades into the background, making it seem like you're about to play a game that hasn't been released yet.

Perhaps most annoyingly, some of the latest news revealing the PS5 is significantly out of date, which could confuse some less informed users. Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, for example, brutally forces an advertisement for the “coming soon” theatrical release of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, which actually came out in June 2023.

NBA 2K25, meanwhile, is debuting an early access ad for the game, which is now almost a month old.

Strangely, some games do not use the new advertising system (perhaps there is no recent news). The recently released Astro Bot, for example, is spared for the time being, as is Yakuza Kiwami 2.

Ads have been appearing on the PlayStation dashboard for years, but have mostly been relegated to the PlayStation Store section itself. Likewise, Microsoft's Xbox dashboard is littered with advertisements, but at least the console supports themes that take precedence on the homescreen background.

There is speculation that Sony added this feature as part of the PS5's recent Welcome Hub firmware update, but there was no mention of this in the patch notes. Either way, it's fair to say that experienced PS5 users aren't big fans of the Intrusion.

“There should definitely be a way to disable this,” said Reddit user mikelman999. “I see its usefulness with modern games that are still being updated, but since it only shows the latest 'news' it's much more problematic with older titles. You end up covering your screen with irrelevant information that may be a decade out of date.”

“A terrible decision and I hope that changes or that there is a way to get out quickly,” ConcreteSnake said. “At least with the Explore tab I could ignore it and not infect every game I “own.”

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].