PS5 Update 26.03-13.20.00: Emoji Enhancements and Usability Tweaks
Jessica Wilkins
Published May 15, 2026
By Published Apr 24, 2026, 5:36 AM EDT James is a gaming writer from London who has spent thousands of hours exploring titles from every genre. Though he has a particular affinity for multiplayer titles like World of Warcraft, Destiny 2 and League of Legends, he has also put thousands of hours into single-player experiences, from deep RPGs to epic PC strategies. When he's not playing or writing, he can usually be found supporting his beloved Brentford FC. Summary Generate a summary of this story follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap
The regularly receives updates that change aspects of the underlying systems the console uses, and for the most part they have advanced the direction of travel for players with helpful and improvements to performance that make it nicer to use on a day-to-day basis.
In recent months, there have been some genuinely important steps forward for the platform as a whole, and is doing their best to make sure that solid run continues. Now, they've just dropped the latest of those updates on everyone, and it's a little more underwhelming than anything else we have enjoyed in recent times.
As first by GamesRadar+, the latest PS5 update is now live, with the full breakdown of what has changed as follows:
PS5 Version 26.03-13.20.00 Update Notes
- We've added more emojis that you can use for message reactions
- We've improved the messages and usability on some screens
The lack of major changes to how the system works or functions is obviously a bit of a disappointment this time around, though if you're a major fan of using emojis in the year 2026 then it's probably quite an exciting next step.
The recent run of form for PlayStation 5 updates has included genuine and tangible improvements to PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution for the , as well as a new Showcase Mode, and improved system software performance more generally across the board.
The start of the year also saw several important updates that made notable rounds of stability enhancements to the console, as well as making it more user-friendly while working through the home screens and settings. Though this latest update doesn't exactly pick up the ball and run with it, we can just take it as one small step in an ongoing plan of improvements for the PS5 as a whole.
This latest update comes at a time when the console market is really in a bit of a rough state, with the price increasing significantly for both Xbox and PS5 over the last couple of years. Really, the least the manufacturer can do is make sure that the experience is as good as possible for those who have parted with so much of their hard-earned cash.
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The company's plans for the next generation of hardware are also up in the air right now, with many expecting the PS6 to be delayed to 2029, or even further, given the hostile conditions for critical components at the time of writing.
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