The latest PS4 update has launched, and with the new software update comes a variety of new features and changes. This is everything you need to know about the PS4 8.00 update. What will the update change? The latest software update, known as 8.00, will introduce a number of new features and changes to the PS4 experience. These are some of the key features that will be included in the update: Party and Messages The update will make Party and Messages more closely linked together, which means that you’ll see some changes in the user interface. Both of the apps will now use the same ‘groups’ of players for Party voice chats and message exchanges, instead of having different groups across the two apps. This means that users can start a Party chat or send a message to a group that they have previously chatted with across the PS4, and PS5, when it launches. New avatars PS4 is expanding the collection of pre-set avatars available for users to showcase on their profiles. “An array of new avatars from your favourite games will be available, including Bloodborne, Journey, Ghost of Tsushima, God of War, The Last of Us Part II, The Last of Us Remastered, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End and many more,” developers said. More parental controls Under the parental controls option, the update will combine the ‘communicating with other players’ and ‘viewing content created by other players’ into one setting, called ‘communication and user generated content’. This will cover both areas of communication and user generated content sharing, and offers a simpler setting for parents to understand and apply to their children’s accounts. Additionally, children can send a request to their parents to use communication features in specific games. When a child sends a request, the parent will receive an email notification and they can choose to make an exception for that game if they wish, and can allow the child to use its communications and user generated content features. Mute microphones From the quick menu, users will be able to select an option to ‘Mute all Microphones’ so you can easily keep things quiet while gaming. Enhanced two step verification The two step verification feature on PS4 will be updated to support third party authenticator apps as an option during the activation flow, and two step verification sign in across PS4, mobile and web. No more event creation or private community creation After you have updated to 8.00, users will no longer be able to create events or access existing events created by other users. Additionally, the ability to create private communities under the community app on PS4 is now gone. If you already have existing private communities, you will still be able to access those. Updates to mobile and PC At the same time as the 8.00 update, the existing PS4 Remote Play app on mobile (available for both iOS and Android), Windows PC and Mac, will change its name to PS Remote Play, and the option to connect to PS5 will be added. Users will need to sign into PSN from their PS5 to be able to access the feature, so you’ll need to hold on until the new console is launched in November. When is the update available? The update launched globally on 14 October, so you should have been prompted to download the new update on your PS4. If you haven't, you will be soon. To update your PS4, go to your settings then select ‘software update’ and ‘upgrade now’. Once the download is complete, you’ll be asked to read the System Software License Agreement. Select accept and press the X button to confirm. A version of this article originally appeared on our sister site Sunderland Echo