Will PlayStation 5 Support PlayStation Now?
Sony is being much less forthcoming about its plans for the PS5 than Microsoft is with the Xbox Series X. We know Microsoft wants to put xCloud on as many devices as possible, even bundling it into a Game Pass Ultimate subscription and integrating Xbox Series X hardware into data centers for increased performance. Sony, on the other hand, has not mentioned PlayStation Now at all in its PS5 marketing thus far. The service has been around for years and has never attracted the same buzz as xCloud or even Google Stadia, but it would seemingly even the streaming playing field a bit if the PS5 supported it.
How Does PlayStation Now Work Today?
PlayStation Now currently costs $10 per month or $60 per year and gives you access to hundreds of games for streaming across both PS4 and PC. New games are added each month, and while the majority of them are only available via streaming, there are actually about 300 that can be downloaded for local play. In this way, it’s actually similar to Xbox Game Pass as well as xCloud.
If you don’t have a PS4 and still want to play the system’s exclusives, that’s where PlayStation Now really shows its benefits. Bloodborne, The Last of Us: Remastered, and Gravity Rush 2 are among the available games. However, brand-new first-party games aren’t added to the service, so you still have to buy these the old-fashioned way, in contrast to Xbox Game Pass.
What If PlayStation Now Doesn’t Come To PS5?
If PlayStation Now isn’t available on PS5, a collection of the biggest PS4 games will still be playable for free if you have a PlayStation Plus membership. Called the PlayStation Plus Collection and available on launch day, the games include Uncharted 4, Bloodborne, Detroit: Become Human, and Ratchet & Clank, among many others.