Tag: PS Plus Essential

Hey everyone! This is a round up of the games entering and leaving a variety of Game Services throughout the month, as well as free game giveaways that have been available throughout.

I like to try to keep track of what is coming and going in the world of game subscriptions but it is hard to find a singular place that does that, so I thought I would give it a go myself. I am going to trial it for a couple of months and see how it feels, whether I would like to add things and so on. Having it all in one place means that you can scroll to see if anything catches your eye, or you can Ctrl+F to whichever service it is that interests you.

Disclaimer: Sometimes dates aren’t announced and surprises are thrown in. I will do my best to make sure the information is as accurate as possible!

PlayStation Plus is Sony’s subscription service for PlayStation consoles. The service is split into three tiers. ‘Essential’, ‘Extra’ and ‘Premium’.

PS Plus Essential

‘PlayStation Plus Essential’ is the cheapest tier. This is the tier that is closest to what PS Plus used to be. When you are subscribed, you get access to playing games online and instant access to the PS Plus collection*. Additionally, Essential offers 3 monthly games**. If you claim them during that month then they are yours to play for as long as you have a PS Plus Essential subscription. If you drop your subscription then you will lose access, but they will still be on your account ready for the next time you subscribe. The monthly games get revealed on the final Wednesday of every month. They are then made available to add to your library and play on the first Tuesday, replacing the previous months games. The games offered occasionally vary by region.
* PS5 Only.
** Occasionally there will be more or less.

⚠ The PS Plus Collection ended on May 9th.

May PS Plus Essential Games | Available to claim from Tuesday 2nd May 2023 – Monday 5th June 2023

• Chivalry 2 (PS5/PS4)
• GRID Legends (PS5/PS4)
• Descenders (PS4)

June PS Plus Essential Games | Available to claim from Tuesday 6th June 2023

• Jurassic World Evolution 2 (PS5/PS4)
• NBA 2K23 (PS5/PS4)
• Trek to Yomi (PS5/PS4)

PS Plus Extra/Premium

‘PlayStation Plus Extra’ and ‘PlayStation Plus Premium’ are the next two tiers of PS Plus above Essential. They include everything that you get with Essential plus other benefits.
PlayStation Plus Extra – Extra is the middle tier and allows you access to a catalogue of games, available to play on your console. New games get added to the service part way through each month and stay for an unknown amount of time. Games also leave regularly and it isn’t always communicated well so it is worth checking when you are deciding what to play.
PlayStation Plus Premium – Premium is the most expensive tier. As well as giving you access to the Extra catalogue, it also has it’s own benefits. There is an extended catalogue available as Premium also includes ‘Classics’ – a seperate collection of games from older generations. In addition, game trials and cloud streaming are some more benefits to this tier.
You can find a full breakdown of the benefits here.

May 2023 PS Plus Extra Game Additions | Available from Tuesday 16th

• Ratchet & clank: Rift Apart (PS5)
• Thymesia (PS5)
• Bus Simulator 21: Next Stop (PS5/PS4)
• Humanity (PS5/PS4)
• Lake (PS5/PS4)
• Soundfall (PS5/PS4)
• Watch Dogs: Legion (PS5/PS4)
• Conan Exiles (PS4)
• Dishonored 2 (PS4)
• Dishonored: Death of the Outsider (PS4)
• Rain World (PS4)
• Rune Factory 4 Special (PS4)
• Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin (PS4)
• Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town (PS4)
• The Evil Within 2 (PS4)
• Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition (PS4)
• Rise of the Tomb Raider (PS4)
• Shadow of the Tomb Raider (PS4)
• Wolfenstein: Youngblood (PS4)

May 2023 PS Plus Premium Game Additions | Available from Tuesday 16th

• Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered (PS4)
• Blade Dancer: Lineage of Light (PSP)
• Pursuit Force (PSP)
• Syphon Filter: Logan’s Shadow (PSP)

Games that left PS Plus Extra/Premium in May 2023

• Balan Wonderland
• Batman: Return to Arkham – Arkham Asylum
• Batman: Return to Arkham – Arkham City
• Chocobo’s Mystery Dungeon EVERY BUDDY!
• Chronos: Before the Ashes
• Deadlight: Director’s Cut
• Dreamfall Chapters
• FlatOut 4: Total Insanity
• Graveyard Keeper
• Homefront: The Revolution
• How to Survive: Storm Warning Edition
• Injustice 2
• Kingdom Come: Deliverance
• Kona
• Last Day of June
• Left Alive
• Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4
• Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7
• Marvel’s Spider-Man
• Metro: Last Light Redux
• Mighty No. 9
• MX vs ATV All Out
• NBA 2K Playgrounds 2
• Pathfinder: Kingmaker
• Pixel Piracy
• Red Faction Guerrilla Re-Mars-tered
• Relicta
• Resident Evil
• Shenmue III trophies
• Star Ocean: First Departure R
• This War of Mine: The Little Ones
• Tour De France 2021
• TT Isle of Man: Ride on the Edge 2
• Virginia
• Windbound

Games leaving PS Plus Extra/Premium in June 2023 | Dates may vary

• 9 Monkeys of Shaolin
• Agents of Mayhem
• Ash of Gods: Redemption
• Black Mirror
• Defense Grid 2
• Descenders
• Gods Will Fall
• Joe Dever’s Lone Wolf
• John Wick Hex
• KeyWe
• NSR: No Straight Roads: Encore Edition
• Party Hard
• Redeemed
• Red Faction
• Red Faction II
• Wytchwood

Game Pass is Microsoft’s game subscription service. It is split into three different types. ‘PC’, ‘Console’, and ‘Ultimate’. I will currently only be covering ‘Game Pass for PC’.

Game Pass For PC

Game Pass for PC and for Console are seperate subscriptions but are very similar, they just work on different machines. They have their own slightly different catalogues but function the same. Game Pass grants you access to a library of games on your platform of choice. They are then available for you to play as for as long as you have a subscription or as long as they are on the service.
Game Pass Ultimate combines the two, allowing your account access to the service on both PC and Console, along with more perks including XBOX Live Gold.
You can find a full breakdown of the differences here.

May 2023 Game Pass for PC Additions

• Ravenlok
• Shadowrun: Hong Kong – Extended Edition
• Shadowrun: Dragonfall – Director’s Cut
• Shadowrun Returns
• Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2
• EA Sports Fifa 2023
• Eastern Exorcist
• Supraland: Six Inches Under
• Planet of Lana
• Railway Empire 2
• Chicory: A Colorful Tale
• Farworld Pioneers

June 2023 Announced Game Pass for PC Additions | Available from various dates

• Thursday 1st June – The Big Con
• Thursday 1st June – Car Mechanic Simulator 2021
• Thursday 1st June – Slayers X: Terminal Aftermath: Vengance of the Slayer
• Tuesday 6th June – Hypnospace Outlaw
• Tuesday 6th June – Amnesia: The Bunker
• Thursday 8th June – Rune Factory 4 Special
• Thursday 8th June – Stacking
• Tuesday 13th June – Dordogne

Games that left Game Pass for PC in May 2023

• Monday 1st May – Tetris Effect: Connected
• Monday 1st May – Dragon Quest Builders 2
• Monday 1st May – Destroy All Humans!
• Monday 1st May – Unsouled
• Monday 1st May – Bugsnax
• Tuesday 16th May – Umurangi Generation
• Tuesday 16th May – My Friend Pedro
• Tuesday 16th May – Before We Leave
• Tuesday 16th May – Hearts of Iron IV
• Tuesday 16th May – Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair Anniversary Edition
• Tuesday 16th May – Her Story

Games leaving Game Pass for PC in June 2023 | 1st & 16th of the Month

• Thursday 1st June – Europa Universalis IV
• Thursday 1st June – Evil Genius 2: World Domination
• Thursday 1st June – Fifa 21
• Thursday 1st June – Floppy Knights
• Thursday 1st June – Lawn Mowing Simulator
• Friday 16th June – Bridge Constructor Portal
• Friday 16th June – Chorus
• Friday 16th June – Maneater
• Friday 16th June – Mortal Shell: Enhanced Edition
• Friday 16th June – Serious Sam 4
• Friday 16th June – Total War: THREE KINGDOMS

A lot of people do not realise that included in an Amazon Prime subscription is access to Prime Gaming. Not only does this get you a free subscription to a streamer of your choice on Twitch, they also give away free weekly games and other perks. The difference with this service is that often the games are for different launchers. Some are for Amazon Games, but they also give codes for Epic Games, GOG and more. The best part? As far as I can tell – you get to continue playing the games you have claimed after your subscription has ended.
You can claim your games here.

Amazon Prime Games | May 2023 | Weekly on Thursdays

• Thursday 4th May – Star Wars: Rogue Squadron 3D (Amazon Games)
• Thursday 4th May – Super Sidekicks (Amazon Games)
• Thursday 4th May – Samurai Shodown IV: Amakusa’s Revenge (Amazon Games)
• Thursday 11th May – Planescape Torment: Enhanced Edition (Amazon Games)
• Thursday 11th May – Lake (Amazon Games)
• Thursday 11th May – Robo Army
• Thursday 11th May – Last Resort (Amazon Games)
• Thursday 18th May – Kardboard Kings: Card Shop Simulator (Amazon Games)
• Thursday 18th May – The Almost Gone (Amazon Games)
• Thursday 18th May – 3 Count Bout (Amazon Games)
• Thursday 18th May – Alpha Mission 2 (Amazon Games)
• Thursday 25th May – Lila’s Sky Ark (Legacy Games)
• Thursday 25th May – Agatha Knife (Amazon Games)
• Thursday 25th May – King of the Monsters 2 (Amazon Games)
• Thursday 25th May – Kizuna Encounter: Super Tag Battle (Amazon Games)
• Bonus game – Beasts of Maravilla Island
• Bonus game – Calico
• Bonus game – DKO: Divine Knockout (Amazon Games)
• Bonus game – Double Kick Heroes
• Bonus game – Shattered: Tale of the Forgotten King
• Bonus game – Tandem: A Tale of Shadows (Amazon Games)
• Bonus game – Tiny Robots Recharged
• Bonus game – Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion

Amazon Prime Games | Announced for June 2023

• Thursday 1st June – Mutation Nation (Amazon Games)
• Thursday 1st June – Sengoku (Amazon Games)
• Thursday 8th June – Over Top (Amazon Games)
• Thursday 8th June – Soccer Brawl (Amazon Games)
• Thursday 15th June – SteamWorld Dig 2 (Amazon Games)
• Thursday 15th June – The Super Spy (Amazon Games)
• Thursday 15th June – Top Hunter (Amazon Games)
• Thursday 22nd June – Autonauts (Amazon Games)
• Thursday 22nd June – Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition (Amazon Games)
• Thursday 22nd June – Revita (Amazon Games)
• Thursday 29th June – Gems of Destiny: Homeless Dwarf (Legacy Games)
• Thursday 29th June – Once Upon a Jester (Amazon Games)
• Thursday 29th June – Roguebook (Amazon Games)

Ever since its inception, the Epic Game Store has offered free games to all. All you need is an account. Every Thursday at 4pm UTC at least one title will be set to ‘free’ and next weeks game/s will be revealed. All you have to do is log in and add it to your library while it is free if you would like to play it in the future. If you miss the window then there is nothing that you can do but you have a whole week to do it. Unlike the services above, you do not need a subscription to claim these games.
You can check out the Epic Game Store here.

Free Epic Games | May 2023 | Must claim in the timeframe

• Breathedge (April 27th – May 4th)
• Poker Club (April 27th – May 4th)
• Against All Odds (May 4th – May 11th)
• Horizon Chase Turbo (May 4th – May 11th)
• Kao the Kangaroo (May 4th – May 11th)
• The Sims 4 Daring Lifestyle Bundle (May 11th – May 18th)
• Death Stranding (May 18th – May 25th)
• Fallout: New Vegas – Ultimate Edition (May 25th – June 1st)

Free Epic Games | Announced for June 2023*

• Midnight Ghost Hunt (June 1st – June 8th)

*These games are announced one week in advance so you will need to check on the Epic Store weekly if you don’t want to miss out. Alternatively, I do always try to post them in my discord server.

I may add new sections as I go but for now, this section is for any other give-aways or notable deals that I come across in the given month. Most of these will have been and gone already but it is interesting to see what games have been given.

Steam Giveaways | May 2023

• Warhammer 40,000: Gladius – Relics of War

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