Ever since Sony announced their all new PlayStation Plus subscription model in an attempt to rival the many features of Xbox Game Pass, we’ve all been waiting to see which games they would decide to relinquish and let us have for “free”.
Finally, the waiting has paid off and Sony has revealed the PlayStation Plus launch games in a recent blog post. While each of the three tiers will continue to include the free monthly games, only the two more expensive tiers will include access to the modern and classic libraries.
Move Over Game Pass
Extra and Premium tier subscribers will soon be able to access a rich library of full PS4 and PS5 titles. While some of the PlayStation Plus launch games have been ported over from the now-defunct PlayStation Now service, others are brand new additions.
Fans of sandbox games everywhere can rejoice as these tiers also include access to the Ubisoft subscription services, Ubisoft+ and Ubisoft+ Classics. Though the service may not be much different from all the others of its kind, it does offer day-one releases while Playstation doesn’t at the moment.
The library will expand and shrink as Sony acquire/lose more licenses, but for now you can spend your time with these PlayStation Plus launch games:
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, 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
- Batman: Arkham Knight | WB Games, PS4
- Celeste | Maddy Makes Games, PS4
- Cities: Skylines | Paradox Interactive, PS4
- Control: Ultimate Edition | 505 Games, PS4/PS5
- Dead Cells| Motion Twin, PS4
- Far Cry 3 Remaster | Ubisoft, PS4
- Far Cry 4 | Ubisoft, PS4
- Final Fantasy XV Royal Edition | Square Enix Co. LTD., PS4
- For Honor | Ubisoft, 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
- South Park: The Fractured but Whole | Ubisoft, PS4
- The Artful Escape | Annapurna Interactive, PS4/PS5
- The Crew 2 | Ubisoft, PS4
- Tom Clancy’s The Division | Ubisoft, PS4
The Long-Awaited Back Sony Catalogue
For years, we gamers have had few desires. For me, it’s to be able to explore the Star Wars universe at our own pace, and for Sony consoles to have backwards compatibility.
Now, coughing up some extra money to Sony every month gets you access to a selection of popular classic titles from the original PlayStation, PS2 and PSP generations. While some of these games have been added in their original state, a number of them have been slightly remastered to include some more modern features like saving at any time or rewinding the game.
In a turn of events that is weirdly pro-consumer for Sony, if you have already bought a digital copy of any of the Playstation or PSP games that are available, you’ll be able to download the PS4 or PS5 at no extra cost without needing to sign up for Playstation Plus first!
While more classic titles from the previous generations will be added, later you’ll soon be able to play these Playstation Plus launch games:
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
- 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
PS3 Games You Can Stream Now
If you’re forking out for the premium tier, you’ll also be able to stream a selection of original PS3 games in all their eccentric glory. Through the power of cloud streaming technology, you’ll be able to play these classic, non-remastered PlayStation Plus launch ggames on either your PS4, PS5 or PC.
If you live in a region where cloud streaming is available , you’ll be able to stream these Playstation Plus launch 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
Demos Are Back
Remember when you’d find a demo disc in your cereal box and then spend the whole afternoon playing the same starting level over and over again? Remember knowing you were going to enjoy a game before you had to pay for it?
Instead, a single release can cost you nearly £70 and you’d need to take out a mortgage to be able to play every Triple-AAA release! It seems the gaming gods have heard my prayers, as Sony is set to bring back free demos for some of their Playstation Plus launch games!
These time-limited trials will allow you to play through as much of the full game as you can in the time given. For most games, this will be two hours although the demo for Horizon Forbidden West appears to be available for 3 hours, suggesting that first-party Playstation Studios titles may have longer demos.
Your playtime only counts whilst you’re actually in the game – unlike the recent free trial of Death Stranding that started counting from the moment you downloaded the game. All trophies and save game data from the trial period will even carry over when you purchase the full game, making this a really great benefit for Premium subscribers.
Once the new subscription model launches next month, you’ll be able to try out these Playstation Plus launch games:
PlayStation Studios:
- Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection | Naughty Dog, PS5
- Horizon Forbidden West | Guerrilla, PS4/PS5
Third Party Partners
- Cyberpunk 2077 | CD Projekt, PS5
- Farming Simulator 22 | Giants Software GmBH, PS4/PS5
- Tiny Tina’s Wonderland | 2K Games, PS4/PS5
- WWE 2K22 | 2K Games, PS4/PS5
Ready, Set, Launch…
You’ll be able to play these new PlayStation Plus launch games as early as next week. Sony will be rolling out the launch in a staggered approach, starting in Asia on May 24, followed by Japan on June 2, North and South America on June 13 and finally Europe, Australia and New Zealand on June 23. If you’re located in the UK like me, we’re actually being included in Europe this time in case you thought we’d be missing out.
Will you be upgrading to a new tier to play any of these PlayStation Plus launch games?
Stay tuned to Last Word on Gaming for all the latest gaming news and reviews.
