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PlayStation's answer to Xbox Game Pass is finally coming into clearer view, just ahead of its North American rollout in June. At long last we have a mostly complete list of games that subscribers will be able to play at their leisure.
For those who missed the news, Sony revealed in March that the long-running PlayStation Plus subscription program is getting a much-needed update. Now, instead of a single subscription option that gets you a small handful of "free" games every month — you get to keep them only if you download them during that month, and only for as long as you remain a subscriber — there are three tiers to choose from.
The starting "Essential" tier is basically PS+ as we know it now: Monthly games (two for PS4 and one for PS5), along with the ability to play multiplayer games online and PlayStation Store discounts. Stepping up to the "Extra" tier gives you all the benefits of being an Essential subscriber along with ready access to a for-download-only library of PS4 and PS5 games.
The top-level "Premium" tier is the most you can get. It's everything mentioned so far plusan additional "Classics" library of games from the PS1, PS2, and PS3 eras — some for download and some only playable via cloud streaming — as well as time-limited access to demos for upcoming games. Each plan is, of course, a bit pricier than the last: It's $59.99/year for Essential, $99.99/year for Extra, and $119.99/year for Premium, with slightly higher overall costs for each if you prefer to pay every month or every three months.
It's definitely more complex than a single PS+ subscription ever was, but you can simply roll with the Essential plan if Sony's previous way of doing things was enough. For those who are interested in having a quick-access library of games, you now have enough information to make an informed decision. We'll start with the Extra tier. Here's a rundown of what you'll get with that subscription, pulled straight from the source and divided between PlayStation originals and games from outside publishers.
PlayStation Studios
Alienation| Housemarque, PS4
Bloodborne| FromSoftware, PS4
Concrete Genie| Pixelopus, PS4
Days Gone| Bend Studio, PS4
Dead Nation Apocalypse Edition | Housemarque, PS4
Death Stranding and Death Stranding Director’s Cut| Kojima Productions, PS4/PS5
Demon’s Souls| Bluepoint Games, PS5
Destruction AllStars| Lucid Games, PS5
Everybody’s Golf | Japan Studio, PS4
Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut| Sucker Punch, PS4/PS5
God of War| Santa Monica Studio, PS4
Gravity Rush 2 | Japan Studio, PS4
Gravity Rush Remastered| Japan Studio, PS4
Horizon Zero Dawn | Guerrilla Games, PS4
Infamous First Light| Sucker Punch, PS4
Infamous Second Son | Sucker Punch, PS4
Knack| Japan Studio, PS4
LittleBigPlanet 3| Sumo Digital, PS4
LocoRoco Remastered| Japan Studio, PS4
LocoRoco 2 Remastered| Japan Studio, PS4
Marvel’s Spider-Man| Insomniac Games, PS4
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales| Insomniac Games, PS4/PS5
Matterfall |Housemarque, PS4
MediEvil| Other Ocean, PS4
Patapon Remastered |Japan Studio, PS4
Patapon 2 Remastered|Japan Studio, PS4
Resogun| Housemarque, PS4
Returnal |Housemarque, PS5
Shadow of the Colossus | Japan Studio, PS4
Tearaway Unfolded | Media Molecule, PS4
The Last Guardian| Japan Studio, PS4
The Last of Us Remastered | Naughty Dog, PS4
The Last of Us: Left Behind | Naughty Dog, PS4
Until Dawn| Supermassive Games, PS4
Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection|Naughty Dog, PS4
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End|Naughty Dog, PS4
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy| Naughty Dog, PS4
WipEout Omega Collection | Clever Beans & Creative Vault Studios, PS4
Third-Party Partners
Ashen| Annapurna Interactive, PS4
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla | Ubisoft, PS4/PS5
Celeste| Maddy Makes Games, PS4
Cities: Skylines| Paradox Interactive, PS4
Control: Ultimate Edition | 505 Games, PS4/PS5
Dead Cells | Motion Twin, PS4
Final Fantasy XV Royal Edition| Square Enix Co. LTD, PS4
Hollow Knight| Team Cherry, PS4
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy| Square Enix Co. LTD., PS4/PS5
Mortal Kombat 11 | WB Games, PS4/PS5
Narutoshippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4| Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc., PS4
NBA 2K22| 2K Games, PS4/PS5
Outer Wilds | Annapurna Interactive, PS4
Red Dead Redemption 2| Rockstar Games, PS4
Resident Evil | Capcom Co., Ltd, PS4
Soulcalibur VI | Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc., PS4
The Artful Escape| Annapurna Interactive, PS4/PS5
The Crew 2| Ubisoft, PS4
You get all that? It's a lot. If you're jumping from an Essential subscription up to Extra, this list of games is what that extra money is paying for. While you're an Extra subscriber, these PS4 and PS5 games will simply be available to download in the PlayStation Store (though Sony does note in the fine print that the catalog lineup will vary over time).
For Premium subscribers, the included games catalog goes further. In addition to the above titles, paying for the top-tier subscription also gives you access to an assortment of games from the PlayStation Portable and original PlayStation console, a handful of which have been remastered with new menus and extra features, like "save anywhere" or the ability to rewind your gameplay. And allof the "Classic" games will run at a higher resolution and frame rate.
Here's that list.
Classic Games Catalog – Original PlayStation and PSP
PlayStation Studios
Ape Escape| Japan Studio, Original Playstation
Hot Shots Golf| Japan Studio, Original Playstation
I.Q. Intelligent Qube| Japan Studio, Original PlayStation
Jumping Flash! | Japan Studio, Original PlayStation
Syphon Filter| Bend Studio, Original PlayStation
Super Stardust Portable | Housemarque, PSP
Third-Party Partners
Mr. Driller| Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc., Original PlayStation
Tekken 2| Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc., Original PlayStation
Worms World Party| Team 17, Original PlayStation
Worms Armageddon | Team17, Original PlayStation
Classic Games Catalog – Remasters
PlayStation Studios
Ape Escape 2|Japan Studio, PS4
Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits| Japan Studio, PS4
Dark Cloud | Japan Studio, PS4
Dark Cloud 2| Japan Studio, PS4
FantaVision | SIE, PS4
Hot Shots Tennis | Japan Studio, PS4
Jak II | Naughty Dog, PS4
Jak 3 | Naughty Dog, PS4
Jak X: Combat Racing | Naughty Dog, PS4
Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy| Naughty Dog, PS4
Rogue Galaxy | Japan Studio, PS4
Siren|Japan Studio, PS4
Wild Arms 3 | SIE, PS4
Third-Party Partners
Baja: Edge of Control HD | THQ Nordic, PS4
Bioshock Remastered| 2K Games, PS4
Borderlands: The Handsome Collection| 2K Games, PS4
Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition| Gearbox Publishing, PS4
Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning | THQ Nordic, PS4
Lego Harry Potter Collection| WB Games, PS4
In a welcome twist, Sony confirmed that people who purchased non-disc/cartridge versions of these games in the past will be able to access them on their PS4 or PS5 without a PlayStation Plus subscription. It sounds like at least a few of them will simply be re-released as well, meaning you'll be able to buy certain older games a la carte from the PS Store.
The rest of the Premium-only catalog is rounded out by games streamed from the cloud and limited access to game trials.
On the cloud front, people who live in areas where Sony's service is supported will have streaming-only access to an assortment of PS3 games. You'll also need to have a decent high-speed internet connection — Sony says 5 Mbps is the minimum — 15 Mbps for 1080p — but we won't know anything about performance until the revised service launches.
Just like Sony's existing PlayStation Now cloud gaming service, these streaming PS3 titles will be playable on PC in addition to PS4 and PS5. This feature isn't available in every part of the world, but many major markets are covered.
The U.S., Canada, Japan, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Austria, Switzerland, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Sweden are already up and running for PlayStation cloud gaming. Sony also confirmed that the service revamp's June launch will also add a number of new markets: Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Republic of Cyprus, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia.
Here are the PS3 games:
PlayStation Studios
Crash Commando| Creative Vault Studios, PS3
Demon’s Souls | From Software, PS3
echochrome| Japan Studio, PS3
Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds| Japan Studio, PS3
Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational| Japan Studio, PS3
Ico| Japan Studio, PS3
Infamous| Sucker Punch, PS3
Infamous 2 | Sucker Punch, PS3
Infamous: Festival of Blood| Sucker Punch, PS3
LocoRoco Cocoreccho! | Japan Studio, PS3
MotorStorm Apocalypse| Evolution Studios, PS3
MotorStorm RC| Evolution Studios, PS3
Puppeteer |Japan Studio, PS3
rain| Japan Studio, PS3
Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty| Insomniac Games, PS3
Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time| Insomniac Games, PS3
Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus |Insomniac Games, PS3
Resistance 3| Insomniac Games, PS3
Super Stardust HD | Housemarque, PS3
Tokyo Jungle| Japan Studio, PS3
When Vikings Attack| Clever Beans, PS3
Third-Party Partners
Asura’s Wrath| Capcom Co., Ltd., PS3
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2| Konami, PS3
Devil May Cry HD Collection | Capcom Co., Ltd., PS3
Enslaved: Odyssey to the West| Bandai Namco Entertainment America Inc., PS3
F.E.A.R.| WB Games, PS3
Lost Planet 2 | Capcom Co., Ltd., PS3
Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 | Koei Tecmo, PS3
Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare |Rockstar Games, PS3
Time-limited trials, on the other hand, are for-download versions of full games that Premium subscribers will, for most games, be able to play free of charge for two hours, with the timer only ticking down while you're in-game. It's not nearly as appealing as the Xbox Game Pass benefit that makes Microsoft's self-published games available in full to subscribers the same day those games launch in stores. But the PS+ trials aren't just limited to Sony-published games.
This is the smallest section of the subscribers-only catalog. At launch, PS+ Premium members will be able to sample the PlayStation exclusive Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves CollectionandHorizon: Forbidden West, as well as a small handful of third-party titles: Cyberpunk 2077from CD Projekt Red, Farming Simulator 22from Giants Software, and Tiny Tina's Wonderlandand WWE 2K22, both from 2K Games.
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Just like the monthly games drop that's been a fixture of the pre-revamp PS+ program since its inception, Sony plans to update the Extra and Premium libraries on a monthly basis.
The revamped PS+ program launches first in Asia on May 24 before spreading to other regions and markets. Japan goes next, on June 2, followed by North and South America on June 13, and then Europe, Australia, and New Zealand on June 24. You can find more info straight from Sony on the newly updated PS+ landing page.
TopicsGamingPlayStation