PlayStation Premium members will soon be able to play PS5 games without downloading them, as streaming is being added to the highest tier of the PlayStation Plus service. This streaming will start with a limited selection of titles, but the library will grow over time and add new games over the coming years.
Streaming game services might not have taken off as some expected, but there are some big advantages to using this method instead of downloading games. For one thing, you can avoid lengthy install sizes on day one, as the poor Baldur’s Gate 3 fans had to endure on PC. There’s also the issue of minimum file sizes for digital games, which might put someone off downloading a 100GB game, especially if their hard drive has titles they’re already playing.
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PS5 Game Streaming Is On The Way For PlayStation Premium Subscribers
PS5 owners won’t have to worry about file sizes any longer, so long as they subscribe to PlayStation Premium and have a fast Internet speed. A new post on the official PlayStation Blog has announced that PS5 streaming will be available for PlayStation Premium subscribers, with different rollouts per region. PS5 streaming is coming to Japan on October 17, Europe on October 23, and North America on October 30.
The library of games will be limited at first, though it’s set to include lots of PlayStation Plus Catalog games, like Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Horizon Forbidden West, Ghost of Tsushima, Mortal Kombat 11, and Saints Row IV. Titles currently available via Game Trials will also be eligible, including Hogwarts: Legacy and The Calisto Protocol, as well as titles like Genshin Impact, Fall Guys, and Fortnite.
There are also options for variable screen resolutions, including 720p, 1080p, 1440p, and 2160p. Bear in that you’ll need a beastly Internet speed if you’re considering hitting those higher numbers, especially if you’re playing a graphically intensive game. You’ll also be able to use 3D audio and record screenshots/video while streaming.
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The incredibly large file size of modern games is a huge incentive to try out streaming, especially if you see a game on sale and want to jump right in without waiting all day for it to download. Those monstrous 100GB file sizes will hopefully become a non-issue when streaming becomes widespread. However, you’ll still need to be subscribing to PlayStation Plus’ highest tier if you want to experience it on PS5.
