PlayStation Plus is Sony’s monthly subscription service that is required for online play on PlayStation 4 and PS5 consoles.
It also gives access to free games each month, as well as great discounts on games bought through the PlayStation Store.
And, from June 2022, two new tiers will be added to the basic service that will include access to 100s of PS4 and PS5 games (similar to Xbox Game Pass)
So here’s everything you need to know about PS Plus, including how much it costs and all the current and future benefits.
What is PS Plus?
PlayStation Plus is a monthly subscription service that enables online, multiplayer play for PS4 and PS5 games.
It is required to play the vast majority of games online – only some free-to-play titles are exempt.
It started many years ago, with the service launching for PlayStation 3 initially. It was also available for PS Vita users, but both consoles have long since been discontinued and PS Plus is no longer active on either.
As well as online play, it includes cloud storage for save games, discounts, access to early trials of games, and a few other benefits. You can read about them below.
From June 2022, it will be split into three different tiers: PlayStation Plus Essential, PlayStation Plus Extra, and PlayStation Plus Premium. PS Plus Essential will offer the same standard benefits as above, while Extra and Premium will incorporate 100s of free games delivered either over the cloud (à la PS Now) or downloadable.
How much does PlayStation Plus cost?
There is just one price plan currently. However, from June the standard PS Plus will be renamed PS Plus Essential. There will be two increasingly more expensive tiers added too.
PS Plus / PS Plus Essential
The standard tier of PS Plus can be paid for monthly, quarterly or annually.
Monthly membership costs £6.99 / $9.99 / €8.99. It is £19.99 / $24.99 / €24.99 for 3-months, or you can pay for 12-months upfront for £49.99 / $59.99 / €59.99.
You can sign up for PS Plus either through your console, the PlayStation Store online, or purchase a voucher from a number of retailers.
PS Plus Extra
PS Plus Extra will be added this coming June and will include all the benefits of the standard plan plus access to a catalogue of up to 400 PS4 and PS5 games to play at no extra cost.
It will be priced at £10.99 / $14.99 / €13.99 per month, £31.99 / $39.99 / €39.99 for 3-months, or £83.99 / $99.99 / €99.99 if paid for yearly.
PS Plus Premium
Also coming in June is PS Plus Premium. In incorporates all of the benefits of Essential and Extra, then adds up to 340 additional games on top, from the back catalogue of PS3, PS2, PSP and even original PlayStation games – often via cloud streaming. There will also be time-limited trials in this tier.
It will be cost £13.49 / $17.99 / €16.99 per month, £39.99 / $49.99 / €49.99 for 3-months, or £99.99 / $119.99 / €119.99 if paid for yearly.
PS Plus Deluxe
An additional tier will be available in markets that do not offer cloud gaming as an alternative to Premium. PS Plus Deluxe will be cheaper than Premium but pricing is yet to be revealed.
What does PS Plus membership include?
There are a number of benefits included with PS Plus membership. You can read about each blow.
Online play
A PlayStation Plus tier is a requirement for PS4 and PS5 gamers to play each other online. Only some free-to-play games are exempt – the vast majority will only give you access to online multiplayer if you have an active PS Plus subscription.
Free games
At least three PS4/PS5 games are available to download and play each month at no extra cost. They are yours to keep as long as you remain a PS Plus member. You can see the latest free games here.
From June 2022, this will be dropped to two free games a month on PS Plus Essential.
Exclusive discounts
PS Plus members get exclusive discounts on many digital download games on the PlayStation Store. Traditionally, there are also added discounts for members on sale games during major sales periods.
Cloud storage
All PS Plus members get 100GB of cloud storage for save games, so even if you lose your save data stored on a PS4 or PS5, you will be able to recover it later.
Also, if you own a second console and want to carry on playing the same game, you can transfer save games from machine to machine.
PlayStation Plus Collection
Unique to the PlayStation 5, the PS Plus Collection comprises 20 first and third-party PS4 games to download and play through backward compatibility. Some, including Days Gone, even feature enhancements, such as 60fps and native 4K resolution.
They are available at no extra cost to PS5 owners with PS Plus. It is not yet known whether this will continue after the launch of the new tiers.
PlayStation Plus Collection game list
Here are the games available in the PlayStation Plus Collection (as of 11 January 2022):
- Batman: Arkham Knight
- Battlefield 1
- Bloodborne
- Call of Duty: Black Ops III – Zombies Chronicles Edition
- Crash Banidcoot N. Sane Trilogy
- Days Gone
- Detroit: Become Human
- Fallout 4
- Final Fantasy XV Royal Edition
- God of War
- Infamous Second Son
- Monster Hunter World
- Mortal Kombat X
- Persona 5
- Ratchet & Clank
- Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
- The Last Guardian
- The Last of Us Remastered
- Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
- Until Dawn
Up to 400 downloadable games (PS Plus Extra and Premium only)
Subscribers to the new PS Plus Extra and Premium tiers will gain access to a library of up to 400 PS4 and PS5 games from Sony and third-parties. These will all be available to download and play as long as you subscribe to the relevant tiers.
Classic games (PS Plus Premium only)
Premium tier members will gain access to an additional library of classic PS3, PS2, PlayStation and PSP games that’ll be available to download or stream.
Cloud gaming (PS Plus Premium only)
All games offered in the Extra benefit will also be available via cloud streaming to Premium members. That means you won’t have to download them first to play. It will use Sony’s current PS Now technology, with that service merged into PS Plus from June.
Time-limited game trials (PS Plus Premium only)
Premium subscribers will also gain access to time-limited trials of games so you can try them before you buy.