For years, players of large PlayStation 5 parties have had to guess who was speaking unless they opened the voice‑chat card. The September 16, 2026 system software update (version 26.06‑14.00.00) finally adds an on‑screen tag that shows the name of the person currently talking. The same update also enables enhanced PSSR upscaling by default on the PS5 Pro, but the speaker label works on both the standard PS5 and the Pro model. The indicator is optional; you must enable it before it appears, and you can choose its screen position.
To activate the “Display Who’s Speaking” feature, start or join a PlayStation party. Press the PS button to open the Control Center, then go to Game Base → Parties → Start Party and pick either Open Party or Closed Party, depending on who you want to allow. While in the voice chat, open the Control Center again, select the Voice Chat card, tap the three‑dot More button, and choose Display Who’s Speaking. Turn on Display Names and the speaker’s name will appear on your screen. You can move the indicator to avoid covering important game elements such as the mini‑map or health bar. To hide it, simply turn off Display Names in the same menu. If the option is missing, check Settings → System → System Software → System Software Update and Settings and run Update System Software to ensure you have the latest version.
PlayStation parties can host up to 16 participants, so spotting the person with a loud microphone can be a challenge. Once you identify the speaker, select their name in the Voice Chat card and adjust their individual volume. That volume setting is remembered for future chats with the same player.
Some users reported seeing the speaker label as early as November 2025, sharing screenshots of the setting, while others did not. A few even lost access after initially having it. Sony has not explained how the early rollout was managed, but the September 16 update officially documented the feature in the public release notes. Although the indicator is described for PlayStation party chat, some players have managed to use it with Discord on the PS5. It does not work with in‑game voice chat, which often includes its own speaker‑display options, so check each game’s settings if you need that functionality.
The addition is a welcome improvement, though customization options remain limited. There are no controls for adjusting the indicator’s transparency or size. By contrast, Xbox’s party overlay, announced back in May 2017, allows users to modify both position and transparency.