What is PlayStation Plus? | Everything You Need To Know

PlayStation Plus is a Sony’s subscription service that is required to play games online for PS4 and the just-released PS5. You’ll need it to play a multiplayer game with people you’ve never met from around the world as well as to play co-op games with your friends and family who live nearby. With this service, individuals can access free games every month along with incredible discounts on games they buy on the PlayStation store. This service is available for purchase in all countries. Here is everything you should know about PlayStation Plus.

What Do You Get With PlayStation Plus?

PlayStation Plus comes with various incredible features that allow one to discover great games, new ways of playing, and connecting to friends.

The main reason that most people want a PlayStation Plus membership is that it gives them the option to participate in online multiplayer play (for games that have it) that lets gamers play online with friends and participate in tournaments. This allows them to join an international community of online players. Not only is there a very high number of games that have an online multiplayer mode, but gaming these days is very social and the ability to play with and talk to family and friends is very important to a lot of gamers.

Related the option for online multiplayer play PS Plus also has Share Play, which allows you to play multiplayer and co-op games with a friend or even hand control of single-player adventures over to them, even if they don’t own the game.

In addition to giving users access to online gameplay, a PS Plus membership also comes with two free PS4 games included every month which only members can play. You can therefore expand your game collection with indie games, multiplayer games, and blockbuster titles.

PlayStation Plus also includes incredible member discounts on pre-orders, games, and add-ons. Therefore, apart from the regular PS store promotional prices, beta trials as well as early access to demos, one can save on exclusive rewards reserved for members of this subscription.

Users also get 100GB of cloud storage space for saving games, meaning they can still recover their data that was stored on their PS4. Also, if you have a second PS4 and you want to play the same games on both consoles, you can transfer your progress from one machine to the next.

Finally, for certain games, PS Plus will give you exclusive game content like members-only skins, cosmetics, weapons, and more. How valuable these exclusives are to you really depends on if they are for games that you like to play.

What Does PlayStation Plus Cost & What Are the Subscription Lengths?

PlayStation Plus Memberships are sold in three different subscription lengths: monthly, quarterly, and yearly. As you might expect memberships for longer time periods will offer you the best value. When you do the math you will see that the monthly cost for PlayStation Plus is very affordable when you purchase the 12-month membership.

If you purchase your membership using a credit card through the PlayStation store it will automatically renew. Should the price of your subscription fee increase, you’ll be sent a notification on the email address you used as your Sign-in ID. You can change this address by signing in to account management. Additionally, if you don’t want to pay the new price or decide to end your membership for some other reason, you’re given enough time to cancel your subscription (up to 24 hours) before the new payment is charged.

Different PlayStation Systems You Can Use It With

PlayStation Plus will remain active on PS4. But, its collection will have a significant advantage to PS5 users. Players will download and play games on the list on their next-gen console. Games available on this service include Fallout 4, Until Dawn, Bloodborne, Mortal Kombat X, etc.

How Do The Free Games Work on PS Plus?

PS Plus subscribers are offered at least 2 games every month known as Instant Game Collection. These games are available throughout the month which you can “purchase” them for free on your PS4, then download and play them for a year from the day of “purchase”. But, even though the games are free for that month, you have to redeem your subscription to access them. Also, note that those who don’t download these free games monthly won’t get them for free. Additionally, you can’t download or play these free games unless you have an active PlayStation Plus subscription. You’ll not be able to play the games if your subscription lapses but once you’ve renewed it, you’ll regain access to all the free games you’ve acquired.

How Do The Deals/Discounts Work on PS Plus?

Some PlayStation Store sales can only be accessed by PS Plus subscribers. But non-members can access some sales although at a higher price. Thus, each item on the PlayStation store has two different prices; the yellow price with a plus for PS Plus subscribers and the white price for those who haven’t subscribed to this service. Sony often runs several sales but they’re not always great. Note that you won’t get discounts on big games that have just been released as these deals are only available to older big games or newer small indie games. You can keep the items you buy through these sales even after your subscription lapses.

What Is The Auto-Upload/Cloud Storage Feature and How Does It Work?

As earlier said, PS Plus users are offered up to 100GB online storage space. Thus, one can save their progress on one machine and transfer it to another. The auto-upload feature automatically adds data saved on your primary PS4 to online storage. Once you activate this feature, you can control the games that’ll auto-upload your saved data by removing or adding a checkmark beside that game title. Once the saved data for the game is updated, it’ll be automatically saved to online storage when you log out.

What Type of Internet Connection Do You Need for PlayStation Plus?

When it comes to online gaming, your internet connection is extremely important. It has to be secure as well as fast. Most games have a minimum connection speed that is required to play them online. With PlayStation games, all of them must meet the minimum connection required to be allowed onto the PlayStation platform. Fortunately, Sony’s requirements are a bit low. You only need a download speed of 3Mbps and an upload speed of 1Mbps.

Wikipedia reported that in 2017 the average internet speed in the U.S was 19Mbps and more recently TechRepublic reported that the nationwide average is now up to 50.2Mbps. This means that most people can seamlessly play any game online if you have the average internet speed. However, if your internet connection is at the minimum requirements you could have some issues with online gameplay especially if other people in your home are also using the internet while you are playing online.

PlayStation Plus can be used on both wired (LAN) and wireless networks (Wi-Fi). We advise that you opt for a wired connection if you can, as it’s faster. Connecting your console directly to your router using an Ethernet cable will contribute to an incredible gaming experience.

How Will PS Plus Work With The New PlayStation 5 Console?

Yes, PlayStation Plus will work with the PlayStation 5 console just as it has with previous PlayStation console generations. If you are currently a PS Plus member with your PS4 console your membership will likely carry over to PS5. Well, Sony hasn’t openly stated whether your PS Plus subscription will carry over to PS5. However, there is no reason it shouldn’t. As long as one is using the same PS account they were using on PS4 on their PS5, everything should be fine.

It is also worth noting that there’s a feature called PlayStation Plus Collection that’ll be exclusive to those with a PS5 console. This feature allows you to download and play a special selection of PS4 games at no additional cost. Everyone who has ever purchased a new console before knows that this is a great benefit because when you buy a newly released console you want to play as many games as possible and there often there aren’t a lot of games released when new consoles first become available.

PlayStation Plus as a Gift Idea

It can be tough when trying to shop for a video game enthusiast. It can be hard knowing what they want or don’t already have. Plus, so often knowing which games or accessories to get someone is very dependant on knowing his or her personal tastes and preferences. If you don’t know these tastes and preferences shopping for that gamer in your life can be very difficult.

That said if you are looking for a gift for someone who owns a PlayStation console a PlayStation Plus membership is an excellent idea for a couple of reasons. First of all, they probably already want it so they can play with their friends online. Second, you know it will get used because if they already have a PlayStation Plus membership they can add the one you give them to their current membership thereby extending the expiration date.

Final Thoughts

With so many games these days being played either partially or entirely online having PlayStation Plus is pretty much a necessity if you own a PlayStation console. Then when combined with affordable pricing, free games, discounts, and other perks, PlayStation Plus is a tremendous value.

Last update on 2024-04-23 at 05:26 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API