With the latest PS5 system update, Sony introduced "Showcase Mode" for the Welcome Hub, finally giving players more control over their backgrounds. The GTA community, in particular, is already making extensive use of the feature to transform the console into a virtual Vice City gallery.
The PS5 Update 26.02-13.00.00 The new Showcase mode is being added to the Welcome Hub, allowing backgrounds to be displayed in all their glory while the game is idle, without any distracting widgets. While Sony is thus fulfilling a long-standing demand for more personalization, GTA fans are already repurposing the feature as a slideshow tool for upcoming blockbusters.
Showcase mode: a long-awaited replacement for themes?
Since the PS5's launch in 2020, users have criticized its rigid user interface, which offered little freedom in terms of themes compared to the PS4. The latest update significantly expands the Welcome Hub introduced last year.
With the new Showcase mode, Sony puts aesthetics front and center. As soon as the console is inactive, the system hides all widgets and menu items, so the focus is solely on the chosen background. Thanks to the enhanced Media Gallery integration, users can now finally set their own screenshots as static or rotating backgrounds. For those who can't decide on a single image, the new slideshow function allows users to select entire albums, which then automatically rotate across the screen.
Why the GTA community is celebrating this feature
As soon as the update went live, screenshots of GTA 6 backgrounds flooded social media. Since Rockstar Games has released only a limited amount of official material so far, fans are curating their own "GTA 6 slideshows." They're using uploaded 4K screenshots from the first trailer to bring the "Vice City feeling" directly to the dashboard.
For many, it's a psychological substitute for the lack of dynamic themes in the previous generation. When the widgets are hidden in Showcase mode, the PS5 momentarily ceases to resemble an ad-filled menu and instead looks like a personalized gaming station.
Technically speaking, Showcase mode isn't a true "Dynamic Theme". Once you... Welcome Hub When leaving the main menu and navigating to a game icon, the respective game artwork overwrites the entire screen again. Sony thus remains true to its restrictive UI policy. Nevertheless, the integration of the media gallery shows that community feedback regarding the dashboard's "advertising-heavy" appearance has finally been listened to in Japan.
The Showcase mode is and remains a nice convenience feature, but not a game-changer for the overall system experience. The enthusiasm of GTA fans primarily demonstrates the immense hunger for customization (and for GTA 6 itself). It's a compromise: while we don't get animated themes with custom music back, we can at least choose which image greets us when the console starts up.
Someone asked about these features? When I turn on the console, I see the background and the menu for a few seconds at most, then I start a game. I'm not going to look at a picture or a slideshow! Does anyone actually do that? I find all this tile mess ugly anyway; it's even worse and more confusing on the Xbox One/Series. I thought the Blade Dashboard on the Xbox 360 was the best—simple, clear, and yet still a bit playful thanks to the different colors. Or the menu on the original Xbox.