Sony Examining Cloud Gaming for PS Plus Premium Subscribers on PS5
Sony is preparing to offer PS5 game streaming on devices such as Project Q handheld, but first, it needs to provide the streaming service. Fortunately, the company is currently testing the streaming of “supported” PS5 games for PlayStation Plus Premium subscribers, which includes PS Plus Game Catalog titles and game trials. Although users will need to use their PS5 system, this will eliminate the need to download games and take up valuable SSD space.
The test is in the “early stage”. A launch window and other information will be available “when we’re ready,” Sony says.
PS Plus Premium normally costs $15 per month and already enables cloud gaming for PS3, PS4 and “classic” games. You can also stream these titles on your computer. PS5 support should make the tier significantly more attractive, especially as Sony expands access beyond the PS5. Project Q has an 8-inch screen with DualSense-compatible controls, and is currently only confirmed to work with remote playback directly from your own PlayStation 5.
This doesn’t mean that first-party games will be streamable on release day, as Microsoft’s Game Pass sometimes does. Orders manager Nick Maguire tells GamsIndustry.biz that in-house products will continue to be released “outside the service first”. The current approach of moving games to Premium a year or more later “is working,” according to Maguire. In other words, the company wants to make as many purchases as possible.
It still provides access to a substantial library. Starting next week, PS Plus will add Far Cry 6, Inscryption, Rogue Legacy 2 and Soulstice to the PS5 section. While these aren’t necessarily must-have games, Premium streaming can make checking them out relatively painless.
