Do PlayStation Plus Monthly Games Stay Yours Forever?
As a hardcore PlayStation gamer and content creator who loves keeping my loyal fanbase informed on the latest gaming news and updates – no, PlayStation Plus monthly games do not stay yours forever.
The instant you stop paying for your PlayStation Plus membership, either by unsubscribing or letting it lapse, you lose access to all previously "unlocked" monthly games.
This makes PS Plus somewhat controversial among players. So let‘s dive deeper into exactly how the monthly games get handled across PS Plus tiers.
Breaking Down PlayStation Plus Membership Tiers
In June 2022, Sony overhauled PS Plus by introducing three new membership tiers, each with varying benefits and prices:
| Tier | Price | Key Benefits | Size of Game Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essential | $9.99/month | Online multiplayer, monthly games, exclusive discounts, cloud storage | N/A |
| Extra | $14.99/month | Essential benefits + up to 400 PS4 and PS5 games | 400+ games |
| Premium | $17.99/month | Extra benefits + 340 additional PS3 games, classics catalog, game trials | 740+ games |
All tiers include the much touted monthly games. But Premium and Extra also grant you access to a Netflix-style catalog of hundreds of downloadable PlayStation exclusives, third-party blockbusters, and classics.
As of January 2023, Sony reported having 46.4 million PlayStation Plus subscribers globally:
- 16.6 million Extra & Premium
- 29.8 million Essential
This means around 36% of PS Plus subscribers are actually paying for and able to access the expanded game catalogs. The rest are mostly interested in online multiplayer and monthly game claims.
What Happens to Monthly Games Access When You Unsubscribe?
Here is the exact process when you stop paying for PlayStation Plus:
- You immediately lose the ability to play any claimed monthly PS Plus games from previous months.
- However, your saved data and progress stays in cloud storage for 6 months.
- If you resubscribe within 6 months, you regain full access including saves.
- After 6 months, your cloud data gets erased. So you‘d have to start any reclaimed games fresh.
Personally, I think it‘s quite shortsighted that Sony only gives you 6 measly months to renew your membership before wiping years of saved gameplay!
Presumptively, up to 15-20% of former PS Plus subscribers likely resubscribe after the 6 month cutoff, losing hundreds of hours of game progress permanently.
Can I Still Redownload Past Monthly Games If I‘m a Current Member?
Yes, as long as you currently have an active PS Plus membership, you can redownload most monthly games released in the last 12-24 months.
- Past PS Plus monthly games get cycled out of the redownloadable catalog after around 2 years typically.
So for example, September 2021‘s monthly lineup with Overcooked! All You Can Eat, Hitman 2, Predator Hunting Grounds is no longer able to be claimed.
But more recent monthly games like January 2023‘s Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Fallout 76, and Axiom Verge 2 can be downloaded again.
You can conveniently find all your personally claimed PS Plus monthly games in your PlayStation library to download whenever needed.
PlayStation Plus vs. Xbox Game Pass – Which Is the Better Deal?
PlayStation Plus undeniably gives you some stellar free monthly games. But how does this compare against Xbox‘s popular Game Pass service? Let‘s compare:
| Service | Monthly Price | Number of Downloadable Games | Key Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| PlayStation Plus Premium | $17.99 | 740+ | Focused on providing Sony first-party exclusives |
| Xbox Game Pass Ultimate | $14.99 | 100+ on console, 400+ on PC | Far more major third-party blockbusters like Call of Duty |
Frankly, for only $3 more per month, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate blows even PS Plus Premium out of the water in terms sheer number of major games available.
And Game Pass just keeps expanding. Microsoft reported having over 25 million Game Pass subscribers in January 2023 – a userbase growing exponentially faster than PS Plus.
This is because Xbox provides far superior value to PlayStation‘s offering. The instant access to brand new titles makes Game Pass a gaming paradise compared to waiting months for Sony games to maybe enter the PS Plus catalog one day.
Should You Just Pay for PS Plus for the Monthly Games?
Look, as a hardcore PlayStation fan myself, I absolutely think the monthly games are a nice added perk on top of online multiplayer access and exclusive discounts.
In fact, Sony has been dropping some serious heat recently with monthly games like Jedi: Fallen Order, Dead by Daylight, Back 4 Blood, and more.
But subscribing only for PS Plus monthly games is hard to justify in my opinion. Even with 2-3 games monthly, that‘s only around $5-10 worth of games you‘re getting "free" in value.
For most players, keeping PS Plus solely to expand your backlog just doesn‘t make financial sense. Not when Xbox Game Pass gives you exponentially higher value for the same cost.
Personally, I only recommend you maintain an active PS Plus membership if:
- You play online multiplayer games like FIFA, Call of Duty etc.
- You want to access huge discounts and store sales
- You plan to claim the PlayStation Classics catalog on Premium
Getting 12+ "free" games per year in monthly claims is then just the delicious cherry on an already enticing sundae package.
I‘d love for Sony to match Game Pass one day with constant day-one AAA releases on PS Plus Premium but they seem staunchly against game subscription models so far.
Maybe we‘ll eventually get to enjoy God of War Ragnarok as part of our $17.99 by 2025. A passionate gamer like me can dream!
Let me know your thoughts on the PS Plus changes so far. Have you upgraded tiers? Still sticking to Essential? How important are the monthly games to you compared with multiplayer access or other benefits?
Stay tuned here as I continue providing y‘all the best insider gaming analysis around!
