PS4

You are required to be a member of PlayStation Plus Essential, PlayStation Plus Extra, PlayStation Plus Deluxe or PlayStation Plus Premium in order to play online multiplayer for a vast majority of PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 games. The only exceptions to this rule are free-to-play such as Apex Legends, Call of Duty Warzone, Destiny 2, Fall Guys, Fortnite, Genshin Impact, Multiversus and Rocket League. 

To see how you can check to see if a specific game requires PS Plus for online play, you can take a look at this tutorial from Seeking Tech. 

1. To start off, make sure you turn on your PlayStation 4, PlayStation 4 Pro, PlayStation 5 or PlayStation 5 Digital Edition console if you haven’t done so already. 

2. Next, you need to head over to the product page of the game. 

If the game is already installed and on the home page of your PS5, then you can move the cursor to the game’s icon. From there, go down and then select the three dots icon. Finally, select View Product in the pop-up menu. 

If the game is not on the home page, then you can go to the Game Library menu. Select the game from there and then select the three dots icon. In the small window menu, you should then select the View Product option. 

Alternatively, you can simply search for the game on the PlayStation Store of the PS5. Searching the online shop is also the only way to view a game’s product page on the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 4 Pro console. 

3. Once you get to the product page on your PlayStation 5, look for a small box located to the right.

You can also select the same small box to open the Compatibly Notices menu.  

If you see the “PS Plus required for online play” line, then it means that you need to subscription in order to play this specific game online. 

On the PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 4 Pro, you should see the following yellow-colored text on the game’s product page if it requires you to be a PS Plus member: 

“Paid PlayStation Plus subscription required for online multiplayer.” 

Even if you aren’t subscribed to any of the PlayStation Plus tiers, you can still be able to play online if someone else is willing to share their benefits with you. To see how you can share PS Plus benefits across multiple PSN accounts, you can follow the steps laid out in this step-by-step tutorial. 

If you have multiple PlayStation Network accounts on the same PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 5 console, then you are able to share some of the PlayStation Plus benefits. To find out how can use PS+ across different accounts, you can follow the steps laid out in this guide from Seeking Tech. 

What PlayStation Plus benefits can be shared on multiple accounts? 

You will be able to share the online multiplayer benefit for paid games across two or more PlayStation Network accounts. As a result, you should be able to play these titles online on an account that don’t have PlayStation Plus as long as you have another account that is subscribed to the service on the same gaming system. 

The other accounts can also be used to play games that were purchased using a PlayStation Plus discount as well as titles that were redeemed from Monthly Games Catalog, The PlayStation Plus Collection, Game Catalog and/or Classics Catalog. 

Non-Plus users can also use the Game Help feature as well. 

What PlayStation Plus benefits can’t be shared on multiple accounts? 

When it comes to PS Plus benefits that can’t be shared, you won’t be able to directly take advantage of discounts or redeem games from the service on non-Plus accounts. You also won’t be able to directly take advantage of timed game trials or PlayStation Plus discounts unless you are logged into the PSN account that is subscribed to the PlayStation Plus service.  

How to share PS Plus for two or more accounts on the same console 

In order to share PlayStation Plus benefits across multiple accounts on the same gaming system, you need to make sure that the PSN account that is subscribed to the service set the current console as the primary one. 

On the PlayStation 5 or PlayStation 5 Digital Edition console, you need to head over to the Settings menu and then select Users and Accounts > Other > Console Sharing and Offline Play. You then need to select the Enable button from the Console Sharing and Offline Play menu if the console isn’t already activated. 

On the PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 4 Pro console, you need to open the Settings menu and then select Account Management > Activate as Your Primary PlayStation 4. From the Activate as Your Primary PlayStation 4 menu, you then need to select the Activate option if your console hasn’t already been activated as the Primary PS4.  

Once you are done setting your console to primary, log out of the PlayStation Network account that is currently subscribed to the PlayStation Plus. You can then log into a non-Plus account on the same console. 

If done correctly, you should now be able to use the non-Plus account to play online matches as well as games that were bought and/or redeemed from PlayStation Plus.

If you are a member of PlayStation Plus Essential, Extra, Deluxe or Premium, then you are able to add games from Monthly Games Catalog and PlayStation Plus Collection to your library. You should then be able to download and play these titles on your PS4 or PS5 console as long as you remain subscribed to the service. 

When trying to add a game from the Monthly Games Catalog and PlayStation Plus Collection to your library, you may see the following: 

• “Something went wrong. Try again later.” 

To see how you can fix this error message, you can take a look at this troubleshooting guide at Seeking Tech. 

1. For the first step, you can try adding the same game to your library again.  

Based on our experience, adding a PlayStation Plus title may not always work on the first attempt but will work normally during subsequent tries. 

2. If you are getting the “something went wrong” multiple times, then you can try restarting your PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 5. By doing so, you will log out and then log back into your PlayStation Network account. 

3. You can also try restoring the licenses on your PSN account. 

In order to do so on the PlayStation 5 or PlayStation 5 Digital Edition, you need to go to Settings menu of the console and then select Users and Accounts > Other > Restore Licenses > Restore. 

On the PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 4 Pro, you need to head over to the Settings menu and then select Account Management > Restore Licenses > Restore. 

4. If restoring the licenses does not work, then you can try clearing the cache of your console.  

To do so, you can try taking the following steps: 

• First, you need to completely turn off the PS4 or PS5.  
• Once the lights have gone off, unplug the power cord of the system from the power outlet.  
• Next, you need to wait for at least 2 minutes. 
• After waiting, plug the power cord of the system back into the power outlet. 
• Turn on your game console and then sign into your PlayStation Network account. 
• Try to add the PlayStation Plus game to your library again. 

5. We also recommend checking the server status of the PlayStation Network, which you can do by visiting this official website. 

If there appears to be a problem, then we recommend that you wait for Sony to fix the servers before you try adding the PS Plus title to your library. 

6. If the “something went wrong” message keeps popping up, then we recommend that you contact PlayStation for additional help.

With PlayStation Plus Essential, Extra, Deluxe or Premium, you are able to download many games. With that said, you do have to be mindful with the amount of space you have on the console storage and other storage options. Therefore, you should pay attention to the file sizes of the PS Plus titles you are downloading.  

To see how you can the file size of a game on the PlayStation Plus service before you download it, you can take a look at this tutorial from Seeking Tech. 

1. To start off, make sure you turn on your PlayStation 4, PlayStation 4 Pro, PlayStation 5 or PlayStation 5 Digital Edition console if you haven’t done so already.  

2. Next, you need to make sure that you are in the home screen menu, which is where you can select which game to open. 

To get there on a PS4 or PS4 Pro, you need to press the PS button. 

On the PS5 or PS5 Digital Edition, you need to press and hold the PS button to go home.  

3. Open the PlayStation Plus App on the home screen. 

4. Inside the PlayStation Plus App, select a game that you want to view the file size information for. 

5. Once you are in the product page of the game, you should be able to find the file size in the box located on the right side. 

6. It is important to note that some games on the PlayStation Plus service offers both PS4 and PS5 versions to download. In this case, the file size information you find on the game’s product page is actually the total of the two versions if both are downloaded on to the storage. 

If you are only interested in only downloading one version, then you should be able to find the file size details by selecting the Download option from the game’s product page. In the Download screen, you should then be able to file sizes for both the PS5 and PS4 versions.  

Here, you can select to download the PS5 version PS4 version or both.  

Keep in mind that this step only applies to the PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 Digital Edition consoles as you won’t be able to play PS5 games on your PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 4 Pro systems.

In 2022, Sony expanded the PlayStation Plus service into four different tiers as you are able to pick between Essential, Extra, Deluxe or Premium. While the Essential plan remains the same price as the original, the other three versions are more expensive. 

To see how you can get a good deal on these subscriptions, you can take a look at this guide from Seeking Tech. 

Direct Deals 

If you are looking for direct deals for PlayStation Plus Essential, Extra, Deluxe or Premium, then the only way to do so is to wait for a sales promotion from the PlayStation Store. This is because you are no longer able to purchase a subscription from a third-party seller or retailer.  

In general, Sony will discount the PlayStation Plus plans during its Days of Play sale, which usually occurs during May or June. These subscriptions should also be on sale in November and December, during the Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Holiday and End of Year sales promotions.  

If you want the best discounts for the PS Plus Essential, Extra, Deluxe or Premium subscriptions, then you need to wait for these sales from the PlayStation Stores.  

To keep on updates as to when these discounts are available, we recommend that you occasionally check the official PlayStation blog during the aforementioned months. 

Indirect Deals 

If you are looking for an indirect way to get a discount for PlayStation Plus Essential, Extra, Deluxe or Premium, then the only way to do so is by getting discounted PlayStation Store Gift Cards and PlayStation Plus Wallet Funds. 

Both of these cards, which can be bought as digital voucher codes as well as physical forms, will add funds to the digital wallets of your PlayStation Network account. The added funds can then be used to purchase a PS Plus Essential, Extra, Deluxe or Premium plan. 

Therefore, if you can get PlayStation Store Gift Cards or PlayStation Plus Wallet Funds at lower than MSRP, then you should be able to purchase a subscription at an indirectly lowered price point.  

With that said, these cards rarely go on sale. Even if you find one discounted, it is usually not as much as the direct discounts for the PS Plus tiers you find during the aforementioned PlayStation Store sales. Therefore, you are better off waiting for the direct deals instead. 

If you have a PlayStation Store Gift Card or PlayStation Plus Wallet Funds, then you may be wondering how you can check its balance. To find out how to properly do so, you can take a look at this tutorial from Seeking Tech. 

1. If you haven’t redeemed the PlayStation Store Gift Card or PlayStation Plus Wallet Funds yet, then you should be able to find the balance printed directly on the physical card.  

You can also look at the receipt to see if the amount is printed there. 

2. If you bought a digital code, then you can try checking the order confirmation or receipt email to check the card’s balance. 

3. Of course, you can also try contacting the seller or retailer where you bought your PlayStation Store Gift Card or PlayStation Plus Wallet Funds from to see if they have any information about the balance of the card you bought. 

4. If you got a digital code as a gift, then you can try asking the gift giver more information about your present. 

5. Of course, you will also be able to see the gift card balance when you redeem it. In order to redeem your gift card on the PlayStation 5 or PlayStation 5 Digital Edition system, for example, then you need to do the following: 

• Turn on your PS5 or PS5 Digital Edition console and then go to the PlayStation Store. 
• On the front page of the PS Store, select the icon that has the three dots. 
• In the small window, you then need to select Redeem Code. 
• Enter the code from your PlayStation Store Gift Card or PlayStation Plus Wallet Funds in the Redeem Codes screen. 
• Before you confirm your redemption, you should be able to see the gift card balance. 

6. If you already redeemed the code, then you can find the balance of the card by looking at your transaction history.  

To view this page, you can select the three dots icon on the front page of PlayStation Store App of the PS5. You should then select Transaction History. 

7. If you want to check the remaining balance of your gift card, then you can head back to the PlayStation Store App of your PlayStation 5. From the front page, you should then select the three dots icon.  

You should be able find the Wallet Balance account located directly under your PlayStation Network user name in the small window.