PS Plus members can cloud stream PS5 games in 4K later this month

By Giovanni Colantonio October 11, 2023

PS Plus Premium is adding a new feature next month that will allow subscribers to cloud stream select PlayStation 5 games. The initial list includes heavy hitters like Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Horizon Forbidden West. Sony is targeting an October 30 launch in North America.

Cloud streaming has been one of the primary selling points of PS Plus since its relaunch last year. Subscribers can use the feature to access several games in the service’s catalog, including PlayStation 3 games. The new feature will now extend that technology to newer PS5 releases, with Sony saying it plans to make “hundreds” of games streamable.

The initial list of compatible games includes Marvel’s Spider-Man, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Horizon Forbidden West, Ghost of Tsushima, Mortal Kombat 11, and Saints Row IV. Select game trials will also be available to play via cloud streaming. That list includes Hogwarts Legacy, The Calisto Protocol, and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. DLC in compatible games will also be streamable, and in-game purchases will carry over as well.

A PS5 menu shows cloud streaming resolution options. — Sony

Several resolution options will be available, including 4K, 1440p, 1080p, and 720p. Those will run at 60 frames per second (fps)with SDR or HDR output. The feature also supports the PS5’s audio capabilities, including its Tempest 3D Audiotech. Notably, the feature will only be available on PS5 consoles. PS4 owners with Premium will not be able to stream PS5 games.

The feature is set to roll out soon across various regions. Those in North America can expect it to launch around October 30. Japan and Europe will get it a little sooner, as Sony is targeting October 17 and 23 launch dates for those regions, respectively.

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Giovanni Colantonio

Section Editor, Gaming

Giovanni is a writer and video producer focusing on happenings in the video game industry. He has contributed stories to…

Gaming

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 sets an incredibly high bar for future PS5 games

EMBARGOED FOR 9/15 8 AM PT Miles leaps through the air in Marvel's Spider-Man 2.

When Sony set out to highlight the power of the PS5 and its SSD, it did so with a modified version of Marvel's Spider-Man. We were treated to a flythrough of the city from end to end at speeds greater than even our web-slinging hero could hope to match without a hiccup or drop in graphical quality. That makes it fitting that the first game that feels like it fully lives up to the promises the PS5 was sold on is none other than Marvel's Spider-Man 2.

This generation has had a notably more drawn-out separation from the previous. Nearly all of Sony's first-party releases, including God of War Ragnarok and Horizon Forbidden West, have seen dual releases on PS4 and PS5. Having played the technically astounding Spider-Man 2, it now seems clear that developers had been holding back to get their games to run on older hardware. Even Insomniac's own Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, a PS5 exclusive, now feels like an opening act that was warming us up for the headliner. Spider-Man 2 finally feels like the first game that could not exist on any console other than the PS5.
Tipping the scale

Gaming

PS5 slim vs. PS5: everything you need to know about the new PS5 model

The slimmer PS5 console laying on its side.

Sony consoles have always gotten multiple versions and editions ever since the original PlayStation 1. As technology becomes cheaper and more advanced, refreshed models that are both smaller and less expensive to produce typically come out a couple of years into a console's life cycle, and we have now hit that point for the PS5. The PS5 slim, as it is being referred to, is a smaller version of the launch models, and will eventually become the standard unit available to consumers once the stock of existing PS5s runs out. However, is this version worth getting if you're an existing owner, or is it only for new purchasers? There's also the question about which of the two versions to buy. To answer all these questions, let's compare the PS5 slim to the OG PS5.
Specs

Let's start with the most important part, which is whether or not there's more power under the hood of the PS5 slim compared to the launch models. No, the PS5 slim is not in any way more powerful than an existing PS5. This is not a PS5 Pro, which is currently just a rumor. Games will not look, run, or play any better or worse on either version. The only difference in terms of specs is that the slim versions have slightly more storage space at 1 TB compared to 825GB, which is just a small 175GB upgrade. There's nothing here that makes it worth buying a new system when you can expand the storage of your console yourself.
Size
Obviously, a slim model would mean that this new version would be smaller than the frankly comically large launch version. While that's true, it isn't a huge reduction in size. The PS5 Slim disc version weighs 3.2 kilograms (18% less that the original PS5) while the discless version weighs 2.6kg (24% less), and both are 30% smaller by volume.
Versions
Once again, you will have the option to choose between an all-digital and standard version of the PS5 Slim. However, unlike the original discless PS5, the new version will give you the option to add a disc drive later on if you purchase a separate detachable drive.
Price
The current PS5 models are priced at $400 and $500 for the digital and standard versions, respectively. While the PS5 slim standard version that includes the disc drive will remain at $500, the discless version will get a price increase to $450. This price increase had already been seen in other territories outside the U.S., but will now be introduced here once these new versions launch. It is also worth mentioning that the detachable disc drive you can get to upgrade your discless version will cost $80, meaning you would spend more to buy the digital version and add the drive than you would by simply buying the version with the drive already included.

Gaming

PS5’s new Digital Edition brings console gaming one step closer to PC

A PS5 consxole is opened up, showing its removable hard drive.

When Sony revealed updated models for the PS5 and PS5 Digital Edition, one specific accessory for the latter caught my eye. That would be the Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc Drive for PS5, which players can purchase separately and then attach to the Digital Edition console if they decide they do want to own physical media after all. Coming right in the middle of a console generation where multiple versions of each Sony and Microsoft console exist, it hews a lot closer to a console future that draws from the PC experience.

By that, I mean game consoles are becoming more modular and customizable. Something like the Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc Drive points toward a future where you can swap console parts in and out as you would with a gaming PC. This not only gives companies a chance to be more digitally focused while still supporting physical media but potentially makes it easier to expand a console’s memory or power without doing a full-on mid-gen console refresh. It’s unknown if this is the real future for console gaming, but the new PS5 models at least lay a bit of groundwork.
A more modular future
While “slim” versions of consoles have been an industry trend for a while, the significance of mid-gen console refreshes has grown over the past decade. The PS4 improved with the PS4 Slim and then the PS4 Pro, while Microsoft flooded the Xbox One market with the One S, One S All-Digital Edition, and One X updated version of the console. And while the long-rumored Nintendo Switch Pro never came to fruition, the Switch still saw hardware variations with the Nintendo Switch Lite and Nintendo Switch OLED model. It's also already possible to tinker with your PS5 a bit and expand its storage capabilities, something that typically felt relegated to modded consoles in previous generations.
This more frequent and incremental hardware release cadence reflects other parts of the tech industry and allows these companies to test new ideas for hardware going forward. The Xbox One S All-Digital Edition played a role in paving the way for the digital-only Xbox Series S. As such, it wouldn't surprise me if Sony is experimenting with a new hardware approach with these updated PS5 models, even if they aren’t massive technical overhauls.