The revamped PlayStation Plus is one year old as of June, and Sony Interactive Entertainment is observing the milestone with a 10-day stretch of activities and giveaways. More importantly, it’s begun testing cloud streaming of PlayStation 5 games, a big step for PlayStation Plus premium members.
Writing on PlayStation Blog, Nick Maguire, the company’s head of subscription services, said the test will only stream the games to PlayStation 5 consoles, but that it will still deliver access to top-of-the-line games without waiting on a chunky download. Currently, only PS3 and PS4 titles are streamable, and they may be streamed to a PlayStation 4, PS5, or PC.
“Our goal is to add this as an additional benefit to PlayStation Plus Premium as part of our ongoing efforts to enhance the value of PlayStation Plus,” Maguire said. “As more games continue to launch on the PS5 console, we look forward to adding cloud streaming capability for PS5 titles, in addition to the PS3, PS4, and classic titles that are already available for Premium members to stream.”
Maguire said the test is in its early stages, and SIE will have more to share soon. In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, published Wednesday, Maguire expanded on PlayStation Plus’ performance since the relaunch, and said that users are spending seven times as much time on the new PS Plus as they did with its subscription-library predecessor, PlayStation Now.
He also noted that PlayStation Plus Premium subscribers — the top tier of service — “ended up being a bigger share of the base than Extra. […] That’s a pleasant surprise.”
However, SIE will stick to its plan of not offering first-party day-and-date launches through its subscription service, unlike its counterpart in Xbox Game Pass. “Putting games in a bit later in the life cycle has meant that we can reach more customers 12, 18, 24 months after they have released,” Maguire told GI.biz. “We’re seeing customers still get excited about those games and jumping in. For us, that’s working.”
Here are all of the games available to PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium subscribers beginning June 20:
- Far Cry 6 (PS4, PS5)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge (PS4, PS5)
- Rogue Legacy 2 (PS4, PS5)
- Inscryption (PS4, PS5)
- Soulstice (PS5)
- Tacoma (PS4)
- Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (PS4)
- Killing Floor 2 (PS4)
- WWE 2K23 (game trial, PS4)
Additionally, all PlayStation Plus subscribers will get a voucher code that can be redeemed for avatars based on some of the more popular titles PS Plus has offered, as well as a wallpaper image for desktop and mobile devices. These freebies can be picked up from June 20-30.
There will also be a free online multiplayer weekend — meaning, no PlayStation Plus subscription will be required to play online — from June 24 at 12:01 a.m. to June 25 at 11:59 p.m. in players’ local time zones. SIE is also giving away three “digital collectible rings” to users who play certain games from June 20 to June 30, and it’s staging giveaways for a PlayStation 5, PlayStation VR 2, and 3-month PlayStation Plus Premium or Extra memberships. See Wednesday’s blog post for more details.
The new format of PlayStation Plus launched last year, hoping to entice existing PlayStation Plus subscribers to upgrade to Extra or Premium service tiers, which absorbed most of the old PlayStation Now subscription library for streaming and download. PlayStation Plus Extra costs $14.99 per month; Premium costs $17.99 a month.
PlayStation Plus Extra subscribers get access to 400 PS4 and PS5 games. PS Plus Premium adds another 300 games, which include titles for PlayStation, PS2, and PlayStation Portable.
PlayStation Plus Essential subscribers still get free games, but those games must be claimed within the month they are offered. For June, those games are NBA 2K23, Jurassic World Evolution 2, and Trek to Yomi. They are available until July 4.
