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PlayStation Plus used to be a subscription service that got you a few free games every month and access to other titles' online features. Needing to come up with something that looked a little more like Xbox Game Pass, PlayStation shook things up in 2022 and introduced a tiered PS Plus system. Now there are three options to choose from: Essential, Extra, and Premium. Each tier costs more than the last, but paying more will get you access to more features and a bigger library of games.
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PostsEssential is the same as the old PS Plus. The cheapest option which lets you play online and gets you a handful of free games every month. Extra gets you quite a lot more, opening up a library of PS4 and PS5 games you can download and play for the price of your subscription. Last but not least is Premium which includes everything you get with Extra plus access to PlayStation's classics library as well as demos for various new games. Fresh games are added to each tier every month, and below you'll find what you'll get throughout May, regardless of the tier you're subscribed to, as well as links to where you can upgrade your subscription or sign up if you don't currently have PS Plus.
PS Plus Essential
New Balatro Title taken with Balatro Plus by SomeCoder99.Game
Date Added
Balatro
May 6, 2025
Ark: Survival Ascended
May 6, 2025
Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun
May 6, 2025
Even if you're subscribed to Essential, the lowest tier of PS Plus, you will get at least three free games every single month. Unlike the games added to the Extra and Premium libraries, Essential games will stay in your library forever once they've been claimed, provided you remain subscribed to the service.
Leading the charge for May's Essential offerings is a big one - Balatro. If you're unfamiliar with Balatro, I can only assume you've been living under a rock for the last year. The twisted take on poker - don't worry, you don't need to know anything about poker to play it - came out of nowhere last year and took the world by storm. Developed by a single person and about as independent as a video game gets, Balatro was nominated for Game of the Year, and I don't think it would have surprised many had it won.
Joining Balatro on Essential this month is Ark: Survival Ascended. The newest game in the Ark: Survival series, you must traverse its world trying to survive, hence the name, and taming dinosaurs as you go to help you do that. Rounding out May's Essential games is Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun. If you loved Space Marine 2 and you now have a Warhammer 40K-shaped hole in your heart, give it a try when it, Balatro, and Survival Ascended come to PS Plus Essential on May 6.
PS Plus Extra
via PlayStationGame
Date Added
Battlefield 5
May 20, 2025
STALKER: Legends Of The Zone Trilogy
May 20, 2025
Sand Land
May 20, 2025
Five Nights At Freddy's: Help Wanted - Full Time Edition
May 20, 2025
Soul Hackers 2
May 20, 2025
Gloomhaven Mercenaries Edition
May 20, 2025
Story Of Seasons: A Wonderful Life
May 20, 2025
Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising
May 20, 2025
Humankind
May 20, 2025
If you're subscribed to PS Plus Extra, not only do you get the free Essential games every month, but you also get access to a library of other PS5 and PS4 games. PlayStation adds titles to that library midway through every month, and there are nine more games Extra subscribers will be able to play in full starting from May 20.
While there isn't one standout game among the Extra offerings this month, there are quite a few that are one rung down. Battlefield 5 is one of those games. With a new Battlefield on the way, EA will want to remind those who have become disillusioned with the series of just how good it can be, plus bring in new fans at the same time.
There's no new Stalker game on the horizon, not that we know of, but that doesn't mean you can't go back and play through the series, and starting from May 20, the original trilogy will be available on Extra. Perfect to play through if you're tempted to try out last year's Stalker 2. Sand Land, from the creator of Dragon Ball, joins it, as does the Full Time Edition of Five Nights At Freddy's: Help Wanted, and all of the other games listed above.
PS Plus Premium
via PlayStationGame
Date Added
Battle Engine Aquila
May 20, 2025
The top, and most expensive, tier of PS Plus is Premium. On top of getting everything that comes with Essential and Extra, you also get access to a couple more wings of the Plus library. The best part of Premium is the access to games from older PlayStation consoles, going back to the PS1, and starting in 2024, PlayStation also started adding PS VR2 games to its Premium library.
Unfortunately, no PS VR2 games are coming to Premium this month, although others previously added to the library are still available. It's slim pickings across the board on Plus's Premium level this month, with just a single game being added to the highest tier of the subscription service, and it's a pretty deep cut - Battle Engine Aquila.
Originally released on the PS2 and Xbox in 2003, Battle Engine Aquila takes place on a planet that has largely been flooded thanks to global warming. Two factions are left to battle over the little remaining land that's above sea level, and you are a part of one of those teams, piloting your Battle Ending in that war.
Coming To PS Plus Later This Year
Game
Date Added
Abiotic Factor
Summer
PlayStation has bucked its bimonthly PS Plus games reveal trend this year and announced other titles that will be coming to various tiers of its subscription service beyond the next month. Lost Records: Bloom & Rage Tape 1 dropped day one on February 18, and Tape 2 followed two months later on April 15, and that's not all.
Following in Lost Records' footsteps was Blue Prince, joining Extra in April. A strategy game that promises to tie your mind in knots, the puzzling indie is now available through PS Plus Extra and Premium. Abiotic Factor will do the same when it hits PS Plus this summer. Another indie, but this one has six players trying to survive deep beneath the earth's surface, crafting as they go in an attempt to fend off monsters and make their new home habitable.
PlayStation Plus
PlayStation Plus is a subscription service from Sony. It comes in three paid tiers - Essential, Extra, and Premium, and offers free monthly games to own, a catalog of hundreds of games, cloud storage, discounts, and online multiplayer gameplay.
Sign Up For PS Plus Or Upgrade Your PlanLeaving PS Plus
Game
Date Leaving
Grand Theft Auto 5
May 20, 2025
Batman: Arkham Knight
May 20, 2025
Infamous: Second Son
May 20, 2025
Resistance: Fall Of Man
May 20, 2025
Resistance 2
May 20, 2025
Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2
May 20, 2025
The Lego Movie 2 Videogame
May 20, 2025
Ghostrunner
May 20, 2025
Payday 2: Crimewave Edition
May 20, 2025
Stranded: Alien Dawn
May 20, 2025
Bloodstained: Ritual Of The Night
May 20, 2025
Journey To The Savage Planet
May 20, 2025
Portal Knights
May 20, 2025
Enter The Gungeon
May 20, 2025
MotoGP 24
May 20, 2025
The Sim 4: Island Living
May 20, 2025
Before Your Eyes
May 20, 2025
Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord
May 20, 2025
Walkabout Mini Golf
May 20, 2025
Synth Riders
May 20, 2025
The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners
May 20, 2025
The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners Chapter 2 - Retribution
May 20, 2025
Unfortunately, whenever PlayStation adds games to Extra and Premium, it removes some too, and this month, even more than usual are leaving the service. A massive 22 games will return to full price, even if you have Extra or Premium, on May 20, 2025. GTA 5 is the big one. The game seemingly seems to join PS Plus for six months and then leave it for six months. If that cycle continues, maybe we'll all be playing GTA 6 by the time it returns to the service. Arkham Knight will also be gone after May 20, as will Infamous: Second Son and 19 other games. Play them now before you have to buy them if you want to continue.
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