The all-new PlayStation Plus begins its launch rollout today starting in Asia, and we couldn’t be more excited to offer this service as a way to get even more great games into the hands of players.
Let’s dive in.
What is the new PlayStation Plus all about?
We’ve brought together PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now in an all-new PlayStation Plus membership service that provides more choice and value to customers across three membership plans globally: Essential, Extra, and Premium (Deluxe in non-streaming markets). Our focus is on providing a curated and diverse game portfolio, with hundreds of high-quality titles to choose from when you subscribe to Extra or Premium (Deluxe).
Where is the new PlayStation Plus rolling out, and when?
The new PlayStation Plus will launch in most countries where PlayStation Network is available. Here is the launch schedule (in local times):
- Asia (excluding Japan), launches starting today
- Japan, targeting June 2, 2022
- North and South America, targeting June 13, 2022
- Australia, New Zealand and Europe, targeting June 23, 2022
What are key benefits for each plan?
Check out the chart below for a quick look at the key benefits.
Which markets will have the cloud streaming option via PlayStation Plus Premium?
The following markets will launch with PlayStation Plus Premium:
- Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Cyprus, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and United States.
What is the price for each benefit plan?
Pricing will vary by markets. Please visit our website for more information on local pricing.
It’s hard to believe that it was almost 12 years ago when we first introduced PlayStation Plus to the world, with Wipeout HD as one of the first games given to PlayStation Plus members. The PlayStation Plus product evolved through the years with more than 1,000 games offered to members globally. We regularly improved upon our offerings to provide a compelling package to the 47 million members who are part of the service today. And just eight years ago we launched PlayStation Now as an open beta and have since seen it mature to a full-fledged service enjoyed by more than three million users in select markets.
Starting today, we take our services one step further. I’m pleased to join our PlayStation community in Asia to welcome the new three-tier benefit offering from PlayStation Plus. The rollout begins today in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand, and will be followed by Japan next week. North and South America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand markets are set to launch next month.
This is an exciting time for us as we begin to bring our tremendous game catalog* to PlayStation gamers globally. Putting high-caliber games in the service is our priority, and we are pleased to launch with some of the most celebrated titles, including Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, NBA 2K22, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Returnal for Extra and Premium/Deluxe members. We’ll also have beloved classics like Ape Escape, Super Stardust Portable, Syphon Filter, and Tekken2, and much more – these iconic games will look fantastic when you play them on PS5 and PS4. Our game catalog will refresh over time with more exciting titles, and I can’t wait for everyone to experience this.
It has been an incredible journey to get to where we are today, and I’m truly proud of the many teams across SIE who worked tirelessly to transform our service offerings to add value and flexibility for our customers. Collectively, our teams have kept you, the gamer, front and center in the decisions we made to create this compelling game subscription.
To the PlayStation community, thank you for being on this journey with us and celebrating this new era of network game subscription services. Cheers.
For more on the All-New PlayStation Plus
All-New PlayStation Plus: Your guide to benefits and features
PlayStation Plus Games List (May 16 Announcement)
All-new PlayStation Plus launches in June (March 29 Announcement)
*Availability of Game Catalog varies over time and plan. See https://www.playstation.com/Plus for details and updates on PS Plus offerings. PlayStation Plus is an ongoing subscription subject to a recurring subscription fee taken automatically (at the then-current PS Store price) at the frequency you choose at purchase until cancellation. Terms apply: play.st/psplus-usageterms
We’re back with more inside info on Steelrising, coming to PS5 on September 8. Last time, we talked about our quest to develop an action-oriented RPG. This time we’ll be looking at the origins of our protagonist. In Steelrising, you play as Aegis, a unique automaton that will have to face an army of machines created for King Louis XVI, the Clockwork King.
All about Aegis
Let’s kick things off with some top-level stats:
- Status: Automaton
- Date of Creation: 1789. Precise date unknown
- Height: 175cm
- Weapons Types: 9
- Creator: Eugène de Vaucansson
- Previous occupation: Dancer for the court
- Current occupation: Fighter & last hope of the revolution
Even before we decided that Steelrising would take place in the 18th century, we had already envisioned an automaton protagonist. Indeed, the possibilities offered by having a machine, capable of rebuilding itself at will or improving its mechanics as it progresses, seemed to fit well for an action-oriented “soulslike” game, where death is an integral part of the learning curve.
Originally, our automaton was called Ada, in double reference not only to the idea of creation, Ada being our Adam, but also in reference to Ada Lovelace, the first programmer in history. Over time and as our universe developed and became anchored in the French Revolution, Ada became Aegis, this time in reference to the aegis, the shield that Athena wields to protect Zeus.
Creating her look
Meanwhile, the art team was thinking about what this machine would look like. There were many influences, but two in particular stood out: “La petite géante” (the little giant) from “Les Machines de l’île (an installation in Nantes) and “La Joueuse de tympanon” (the dulcimer player), the latter also happening to be a product of the 18th century.
On the left, La petite géante and on the right, the dulcimer player, two sources of inspiration that helped Aegis to come to life.
Beyond the mechanical aspect, which reflects the ability to upgrade and rebuild, we also wanted to infuse the character with grace for gameplay reasons: we wanted to incorporate fast-paced, aerial gameplay elements, and verticality. Thus, it was clear to us that Aegis had to be an agile and elegant character.
Aegis deploying her Armored Fans’ blades. Inspired by the fans so beloved by aristocracy, they deliver lightning-fast barrages of cutting attacks.
By association, we thought about music boxes and their little mechanical ballerinas. As well as fitting the story of the character – who was originally an automaton dancer – we found this reference interesting as it added a sense of apparent vulnerability and graceful delicacy in keeping with our vision of the character, creating a contrast that was all the more striking when she sprang her weapons from her body, the petite ballerina becoming a graceful machine of death.
Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google or RSS, or download here
Howdy! This week the team chats unpacks their feelings around indie game Unpacking, and continue to journey through Elden Ring.
Stuff We Talked About
- Snowrunner
- Kao the Kangaroo
- Slay the Spire
- Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
- God of War Ragnarök
- Slay the Spire
- Returnal
- Unpacking
- Elden Ring
The Cast
Sid Shuman – Senior Director of Content Communications, SIE
Tim Turi – Manager, Content Communications, SIE
Last week we asked to zoom in close for some epic macro shots using #PSshare #PSBlog. Here are this week’s focused in highlights:
TheFourthFocus shares the stitching of armor in Ghost of Tsushima.
QuelBia94 shares a close up shot of Aloy’s eye, face paint, and helmet in Horizon Forbidden West.
Photoingame shares a close up portrait of Dina and Ellie in The Last of Us Part II.
GirlWYellowEyes shares a beautiful plant from Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.
horace0816 shares the tire details of a car in Ride 4.
lunar9p shares the lines and wrinkles of Kratos’ face in God of War.
Search #PSshare #PSBlog on Twitter or Instagram to see more entries to this week’s theme. Want to be featured in the next Share of the Week?
THEME: Horizon Forbidden West – Machines
SUBMIT BY: 11:59 PM PT on May 25, 2022
Next week, we’re using our Focus on the machines of Horizon Forbidden West. Whether you’re overriding or in the heat of battle, share your favorite machines using #PSshare #PSBlog for a chance to be featured.
Hello Travelers! Your Genshin Impact dev team is back again! First of all, we must apologize for the delay and express our gratitude for all the patience and support received during such a special period.
Today, we’d like to share more about Genshin Impact’s Version 2.7 Hidden Dreams in the Depths arriving on PS4 and PS5 May 31. As you continue your exploration of The Chasm, you will join an interesting crew consisting of Yanfei and Itto, as well as new characters Yelan and Kuki Shinobu, to discover more about the history and secrets of Liyue. Meanwhile, the Arataki Gang also invites you to the Almighty Arataki Great and Glorious Drumalong Festival and the latest season of rhythm game.
Also, if you’re a PlayStation Plus member, don’t forget to claim your free gift pack with every new version update.
Trapped Deep Inside The Chasm
It seems that The Chasm seals away not only clues to Khaenri’ah and the Traveler twins, but also the history and secrets of Liyue, including how the people fought against monsters 500 years ago. For a long time, Yelan has been watching over The Chasm, trying to find out what happened back then, which may be closely related to her origin. In addition, the yakshas also seem to share a deep connection with what happened in the past.
In the new event Perilous Trail, you will start a new Archon Quest Interlude Chapter featuring a diverse cast of characters inside The Chasm. While Yelan, Yanfei, Itto, and Shinobu are stranded in the depths, danger also looms ahead for the Conqueror of Demons, Xiao, who is conducting his own investigation. Survive the crisis together, and follow Xiao’s steps to uncover the history buried inside The Chasm.
As the story progresses, a new combat challenge Realms of Guile and War will be unlocked along with the Perilous Trail event, putting both your combat skills and party-building strategy to the test. In this new game mode, you will be facing several rounds of combat in four different domains, and each domain has its own rule to rearrange your party after every round of combat. For instance, the Direcliff Court Domain allows only one member of your current party to continue in the next round of combat, while in the Kaleidoscope Cage Domain, two current members will be banned randomly in later fights. The challenge can be daunting, so we also prepared multiple Stratagem buffs and Trial Characters for you to choose from. Bountiful rewards, including the new four-star bow Fading Twilight also await in the event shop.
Besides, our old acquaintance Hosseini the Sumeru scholar is asking for help again to settle another crisis in which dark mud-like substance is spewing forth from the depths. In the A Muddy Bizarre Adventure, you need to use your Lumenstone Adjuvant and the Pursina’s Spik
Hello PlayStation Blog readers! We’re thrilled to bring you the news today that A Monster’s Expedition, the award-winning, open-world puzzle game, is available today for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. In A Monster’s Expedition you play the role of the titular Monster, exploring an archipelago museum. Knock down trees and solve puzzles to move from island to island, and explore the hilarious Museum of Human Englandland, made by Monsterkind who only vaguely understands humanity.
We’re excited to be bringing A Monster’s Expedition to PlayStation, especially after the warm reception we received with our release of Bonfire Peaks. The PlayStation versions contain all of the updates to date including our hefty Museum Expansion Update, and today’s new Hint Update.
The Hint Update is designed to allow new players to come into the game with less pressure and stress about getting stuck, and for returning players to more easily be able to achieve 100% completion. Players can access the settings menu to enable hints about where to go, how to solve each island, and even how to find Friends, the game’s most difficult-to-discover type of secret. The Hint System is fully customizable – turn on as much or as little as you want and enjoy the game in whatever way works best for you.
Our goal with hints is that they should push you towards the solution or confirm you’re on the right track, without denying you the “aha” moment of working out the details. We do this by showing you where you need to place logs to reach the next island – seeing the end state is often enough to work backwards and make the rest much simpler. And for the hidden Friends, the biggest challenge is just in working out where to start looking – hints for those highlight a few islands that deserve a second look, and
The prophecy of Ragnarök brings changes to all the Realms, and with that, we’re excited to announce some new accessibility features that will be available in God of War Ragnarök.
Not only have we redesigned our UI to allow for more flexibility and readability, but we have also rebuilt controller remapping from the ground up and added more customization to our combat and interaction systems. We have retained all our accessibility features from 2018’s God of War and expanded upon them to include more than 60 ways to adjust gameplay to best suit your style and needs.
Here’s a selection of some new and notable features.
God of War (2018) PC Features – Added to God of War Ragnarök
For God of War (2018) on PC, we made sure to improve and continue to iterate on popular features from the initial PlayStation release. We’re pleased to be continuing to support these features in God of War Ragnarök on PS4 and PS5:
Sprint Auto Sprint: You will sprint while the stick is held and stop when released. When Auto Sprint is active, you can begin sprinting by pressing the move stick forward for a short period of time in one direction. The duration required to engage the Auto Sprint is configurable by you.
Persistent Dot (Always on Reticle): If you need additional focal points to reduce motion sickness, or just want a persistent reminder of the center of the screen, we offer the ability to turn on a center dot in three different sizes and seven different colors.
Aim Style: You can choose to use either hold or toggle on/off the aim stance.
Block Style: You can choose to use either hold or toggle on/off the shield stance.
New to God of War Ragnarök
Subtitle and Caption Improvements
We have invested heavily in improving our subtitle and caption system to allow for even more customization and information.
Subtitle and Caption Size: We have increased our minimum text size and added new scaling. This includes an extra-large text size to make subtitles and captions more readable. We have also dedicated a larger text area to match TV and movie subtitle standards.
Subtitle and Caption Colors: You can adjust the colors of speaker names, subtitle body, and captions individually. You will be able choose between seven different colors.
Roller Champions is coming to PS4 (and PS5 via backwards compatibility) on May 25, offering fast-paced, competitive, free-to-play matches in which you can rise to sports-legend glory. Its roller-skate arena action is based on three simple rules: catch the ball, do a lap while keeping it in your team’s possession, and score!
To better understand the game, its origins, and its gameplay decisions, we spoke with Gauthier Malou, Roller Champions’ creative director.
Gladiatorial beginnings
“Blending is at the core of Roller Champions,” says Malou, and that’s especially true when it comes to its origins, which combine inspirations as diverse as arcade games and a dystopian movie from the ‘70s. Before Roller Champions, Malou was part of a small team at Ubisoft tasked with two missions: create free mobile games, and keep an eye on the market to observe its trends. It was during this time that his team noticed that “the market was moving more and more towards interaction between players, spectators, and organizers,” he recalls, citing examples like Twitch and esports competitions.
“Streamers are like a Roman emperor who has to entertain the crowd,” says Malou, “and the more fun the game is to watch, the more viewers will ask the streamers to replay that game. So, at first, we thought of a classic gladiator game with swords.”
But the team wanted to approach the idea in a unique way, and that’s when Malou had a flash of inspiration: Rollerball, one of his favorite movies from the ‘70s. Depicting a dystopian world in which corporations take over and create spectacles to satiate the masses, the film is violent and dark – but that’s not what attracted him to it.
“The fact that this movie had gladiators on roller skates in a circular arena, like Ben-Hur, that’s an original approach,” he says. “Roller skates are based on physics and inertia – it gives us fun gameplay where we’re going to push each other, knock each other down.”
Of course, the colorful and dynamic Roller Champions bears no resemblance to the dark and cruel world of Rollerball. Instead, the team set to work creating a prototype in a roller-skating arena that put competition at the center of the game while still remaining fun and inclusive.
By combining soccer, basketball, handball, roller derby, and a handful of other sports, the team created a totally unique sport. With no guns, cars, or power
The official adaptation of Steve Jackson Games’ legendary and multi-award-winning wargame, Ogre, is now available on PlayStation. Bursting with mechanised warfare, this turn-based strategy game requires a lot of tactical choices, and even more calculated thinking. Based on the original board game created in 1977, this game will transport you into another time.
Here are five explosive reasons as to why we think you will love it.
Hone your strategy
The strategy starts when you choose the units you want to be in your dream faction, where you want to position them, and which attacks are suited best for the fight you’re in. Then you’re leaving the success of these strategic choices down to the roll of dice, and all you can do is sit back and watch your plans play out in front of you.
Set in the not-so-distant future
In a timeline not so different from ours, Ogre is set in the near future. There’s armed conflict where one specific type of unit, the Ogre, instills so much fear into even its allies. Ogres are AI-driven, cybernetic tanks that are so powerful, they equate to the same firepower as a battalion of tanks and infantry. Get ready to fully immerse yourself in this multi-award-winning classic that has been revived for PlayStation.
As the player, you’ll be taking command of hovercrafts, tanks, marines, infantry, and even the Ogres themselves, as you take part in an endless world war. Strive for domination on the irradiated battlefields of the (not-so-distant) future.
Create your dream faction
With two different factions to choose from; you’ll be able to play as the North American Combine or as the Pan European Federation, and then build your dream faction from there. You’ll be able to choose from Light, Superheavy, and Missile Tanks, G.E.V.s (Ground Effect Vehicles), Infantry, Marines, Howitzers, and Ogres (Mark I – Mark VI) to create a different team each time you play.
If you’d like to keep improving yourself, you can keep perfecting the factions you build until you feel like you’ve figured it out the lay of the land. And then, once you’ve figured out that perfect sweet spot, you can keep using the same team, keep using the same, unbeatable faction each time. Make your ultimate unit and use Trains and Command Posts as you please.