In brief: This week, Sony revealed all the details of the new PlayStation Plus tiers launching this summer. The company officially confirmed the initial game lineup and rollout dates for different regions. It also explained how users will access older classics.
In March, Sony outlined its upcoming PlayStation Plus tiers and prices but left a lot of blanks, promising more details to come. On Monday, it fulfilled its promise with an announcement listing dozens of games from every PlayStation system (except the PlayStation Vita) available on day one. The new tiers arrive on May 24 in Asia, June 2 in Japan, June 13 in the Americas, and June 23 in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.
Under the restructuring, the current PlayStation Plus subscription will become PlayStation Plus Essential but otherwise won't change. The first new tier above that is PlayStation Plus Extra, which seems similar to Xbox Game Pass. Its $14.99 monthly rate is identical to Game Pass Ultimate and will include many recent Blockbuster games, though Sony chose not to offer day-one releases.
The selection for this tier includes most of Sony's internally-published games from the last several years, including God of War, Uncharted, Bloodborne, Days Gone, and the remake of Demon's Souls. The company's most recent standout titles are missing, like Gran Turismo 7, Horizon Forbidden West, and The Last of Us Part 2. Notable entries from third-party companies include Mortal Kombat 11, Celeste, Hollow Knight, NBA 2K22, and Red Dead Redemption 2.
In partnership with Ubisoft, PlayStation Plus Extra members receive a complimentary subscription to Ubisoft+. This perk offers users free Ubisoft games, including Assassin's Creed Valhalla, For Honor, Watch Dogs, Far Cry 3, and The Division, just to name a few.
In regions where Sony offers cloud streaming, users can subscribe to the top-tier PlayStation Plus Premium for $17.99 per month. Areas without streaming will get PlayStation Plus Deluxe --- a lower-priced premium service. Both tiers include time-limited trials of recent releases and a selection of PS1, PS2, and PSP games.
Initially, that old-school collection will include games such as Ape Escape, Syphon Filter, Tekken 2, Mr. Driller, Dark Cloud, Siren, and Wild Arms 3. Some of these games will have higher resolutions and framerates than they did on their original consoles. In a system similar to Nintendo Online, PS1 and PSP titles will let players rewind and save the game at any time.
However, unlike Nintendo Online, customers can purchase PlayStation classics individually, even without a subscription. Additionally, subscribers who bought digital PS1 and PSP games on the PS3 and PSP should be pleased to know that some of those purchases will carry over to PS4 and PS5. The Premium tier also offers PS3 games via streaming, including Infamous, MotorStorm, Resistance 3, Tokyo Jungle, F.E.A.R., Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, the original version of Demon's Souls, and others.
The time-limited trials last two hours. That timer will only count down in-game, and any progress will transfer to the full title if purchased. The first games with timed demos will be Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection, Horizon Forbidden West, Cyberpunk 2077, Farming Simulator 22, Tiny Tina's Wonderland, and WWE 2K22.
Sony included a complete list of games on the PlayStation Blog. New titles will land on PlayStation Plus on the first Tuesday of every month as usual.