The mega-success of Twitch. The popularity of top Let's Play video creators. Sharing your video game experiences has become an increasingly important part of how folks talk about the stuff they love and hate. So, it was a bit of downer when Sony launched the PS4 with recording and sharing options that presented owners with hurdles and a walled garden. That's going to change with the console's next update. That's right: you'll be able to turn off HDCP and upload footage wherever you want.


In a blog post today on the official PlayStation blog, Sony announced that a future update will let you turn off the HDCP protection that prevent many recording devices from capturing footage:

This upcoming update will add a rich video editor with a simple tool to personalize your video clips, and you'll also be able to export to and save the videos and screenshots you create by pressing the SHARE button to a USB drive. In addition, this update will add an HDCP off option for capturing gameplay via HDMI, a feature we've previously said would come after launch. We recognize that some gamers want to record and share longer clips of their gameplay sessions, and we're excited to deliver this option with PS4. There's a lot more coming in this update as well, so stay tuned for more—there will be plenty in the update to excite everyone.


This means that players won't have to use the widely known but unendorsed workarounds that can capture footage off the PS4. And the ability to put that footage on a storage device provides even more flexibility for people who want to share their gameplay clips. No date's been provided for when this update will hit, though, so don't go re-wiring your set-up just yet.