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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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Essential 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 PlayStation

Game

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 PlayStation

Game

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 Plan

Leaving 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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