PS5 Cloud Streaming is Launching This Month for PlayStation Plus Premium Subscribers

Sony is getting ready to roll out PS5 Cloud Streaming for PlayStation Plus Premium subscribers later this month. We’ve known since June that the feature has been in testing internally, and Sony said today that PS5 cloud streaming will work with select games in the PlayStation Plus Game catalog, Game Trials, as well as supported PS5 titles PlayStation Plus Premium members own.

Until now, Sony’s cloud gaming technology only supported PlayStation games from previous generations. However, PS5 cloud streaming will be exclusively available on the PlayStation 5 consoles at launch, meaning PlayStation 4 or PC players are out of luck. That’s a notable difference from Microsoft’s Xbox Cloud Gaming, which offers access to current-gen titles on all devices where the service is available.

Sony announced that “hundreds of PS5 titles” will support cloud streaming at launch. And unlike Xbox Cloud Gaming, which is restricted to Xbox Game Pass titles, PS5 cloud streaming will also support select digital games that PlayStation gamers own.

In the PlayStation Plus catalog, the list includes PlayStation-exclusive games such as Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Horizon Forbidden West, and Ghost of Tsushima, as well as Mortal Kombat 11, and Saints Row IV. Outside of the PlayStation Plus library, games like Resident Evil 4, Dead Island 2, Genshin Impact, Fall Guys, and Fortnite will also be cloud-enabled for PlayStation Plus Premium members who own them (digitally).

PS5 cloud streaming will launch first in Japan on October 17, with Europe to follow on October 23. If you’re in North America, however, you’ll need to wait until October 30 to get access.

PlayStation Plus Premium is currently priced at $18/month or $159.99/year. Sony raised the price of annual subscriptions last month, as a year of PlayStation Plus Premium used to cost just $119.99. Cloud gaming does require a lot of resources, but on paper, Sony’s technology is better than Microsoft’s, which has yet to add 4K support for Xbox Cloud Gaming.

Yesterday, Sony also unveiled a redesigned PlayStation 5 console that will start shipping in the US in November. The console is 33% smaller than the current PS5 model, and the PS5 Digital Edition can now be upgraded with an attachable disc drive that Sony is selling for $79.99.