PS5 game streaming coming soon to PlayStation Plus
The revamped PlayStation Plus turns one year old in June and Sony Interactive Entertainment is celebrating this milestone with a series of 10 days of activities and giveaways. More importantly, it has started testing cloud streaming of PlayStation 5 games, a big step for PlayStation Plus premium members.
Write on PlayStation BlogNick Maguire, the company’s head of subscription services, said the test will only stream the games to PlayStation 5 consoles, but it will still allow access to top games without waiting for a bulky download. Currently only PS3 and PS4 titles can be streamed and can 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 increase the value of PlayStation Plus,” said Maguire. “As more games launch on the PS5 console, we look forward to adding cloud streaming capabilities for PS5 titles, in addition to the PS3, PS4 and classic titles already available for Premium members to stream.”
Maguire said the test is in its early stages and SIE will have more to report soon. In an interview with GamesIndustry.bizPublished Wednesday, Maguire expanded on PlayStation Plus’ performance since its relaunch, saying users are spending seven times as much time on the new PS Plus as on its subscription-library predecessor, PlayStation Now.
He also noted that PlayStation Plus Premium subscribers – the highest tier of service – “ended up being a bigger part of the base than Extra. […] That is a pleasant surprise.”
However, SIE is sticking to its plan not to offer first-party day-and-date launches through its subscription service, unlike its Xbox Game Pass counterpart. “Introducing games a bit later in the lifecycle allows us to reach more customers 12, 18, 24 months after they’re released,” Maguire told GI.biz. “We see that customers are still excited about those games and jumping in. It works for us.”
Here are all the games available to PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium subscribers from June 20:
- Far cry 6 (PS4, PS5)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge (PS4, PS5)
- Rogue State 2 (PS4, PS5)
- encryption (PS4, PS5)
- Soulstice (PS5)
- Tacoma (PS4)
- Deus Ex: Divided Mankind (PS4)
- Kill floor 2 (PS4)
- WWE 2K23 (game trial version, PS4)
In addition, all PlayStation Plus subscribers will receive 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’s also a free online multiplayer weekend – meaning you don’t need a PlayStation Plus subscription to play online – from June 24 at 00:01 AM to June 25 at 11:59 PM in players’ local time zones. SIE is also giving away three “digital collectible rings” to users who play select games from June 20 to June 30, and is running giveaways for a PlayStation 5, PlayStation VR 2, and PlayStation Plus Premium or Extra 3-month 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 levels, which gobbled up most of the old PlayStation Now subscription library for streaming and download. PlayStation Plus Extra costs $14.99 per month; Premium costs $17.99 per month.
PlayStation Plus Extra subscribers get access to 400 PS4 and PS5 games. PS Plus Premium adds another 300 games, including titles for PlayStation, PS2 and PlayStation Portable.
PlayStation Plus Essential subscribers will still receive 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.