Sony has announced that PS5 cloud streaming will be launching for all PS Plus Premium subscribers later this month, giving remote access to full fat PlayStation 5 games from the PS Plus Game Catalog, support for Game Trials, as well as a selection of games that are owned by members.
PS5 cloud gaming will support resolutions up to 4K with 60FPS and both SDR and HDR output possible – streaming 4K requires at least 38 mbps download speeds. There will also be full support for Tempest 3D Audiotech and full DualSense controller capabilities.
There will be a staggered rollout over the next few weeks with Sony targeting launch on 17th October in Japan, 23rd October in Europe and 30th October in North America.
PlayStation Plus Premium members already have access to PS3 and PS4 game streaming, but gamers always lean towards newer games and more recent additions to the bundled in game catalogue. Now with PS5 games included, they will be able to play games from the last couple years that have dropped the last generation, and take advantage for PS5 versions of games like Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Horizon Forbidden West and Mortal Kombat 11.
There’s two neat bonuses to this, as PS Plus exclusive Game trials will also be included in the PS5 cloud gaming, so you won’t need to download Hogwarts Legacy or The Callisto Protocol to give them a go, and Sony are extending cloud gaming to include games that members own (or that are free to play), not just games from the PS Plus library. This will include Resident Evil 4, Dead Island 2, Genshin Impact, Fall Guys, and Fortnite.
It’s really a shame that this won’t be supported with streaming direct to that PlayStation Portal controller with a built-in screen – seriously, what the heck is that about?
PS5 cloud streaming entered into public tested back in June, and with this full launch, it brings the company’s cloud gaming efforts back to the cutting edge. They first offered game streaming in 2014 with the launch of PlayStation Now, powered by technology from their acquisition of Gaikai. At the time, this was limited to PS3 game streaming, looking to broaden the company’s gaming reach to TVs and PS Vita. It took a few years before they started to offer games to download, and PS4 games in 2018.
All of this was folded into PS Plus last summer, breaking things up into multiple tiers to offer a direct competitor to Xbox Game Pass. However, while Microsoft pushed hard at the start of the generation to bring Xbox Series X hardware to their cloud gaming servers, Sony prioritised getting consoles into the hands of gamers. PS5 cloud gaming now means they’re really on a level playing field with Microsoft’s options for the first time (and with that one key perk about game ownership, which Microsoft has not yet delivered).
Source: Sony
