PS Plus Premium Members Stunned at Dramatic Decline in Quality 1
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PS Plus Premium is slumping back into old habits.

The top-tier subscription service, which arrived with the grand promise of cloud streaming and retro classics, had been on a bit of an upwards trajectory – but a series of subpar updates has since seen it come crashing down to Earth.

This month’s sole new addition is PS2 first-person shooter Battle Engine Aquila, which by all accounts is an entertaining adventure, but one this author had never even heard of until yesterday.

That’s not to dismiss the title entirely, of course – it got reasonable reviews in its day – but it’s the kind of addition that needs to be accompanied by something more meaningful. Fortunately, the PS1, PS2, and PSP has no shortage of recognisable titles to choose from.

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But the rollout of these retro classics has become nothing short of glacial. Here’s what we’ve got in 2025 so far:

Clearly there’s some very good games here, we’re not trying to belittle what’s been made available. But does this look like a list that befits the £20/$25 premium Sony is charging over PS Plus Extra?

We should add that the platform holder has bundled in a handful of PSVR2 titles into PS Plus Premium recently, which is nice, and of course you get cloud streaming as well, which is surprisingly sturdy these days. If you’ve got a PS Portal, you can beam many of your games directly to the device.

When you compare to Nintendo Switch Online, there’s a night-and-day difference; this year alone has seen the addition of Fatal Fury 2, Donkey Kong, Ridge Racer 64, Streets of Rage, and Wario Land 4 to name just a few. Next month the Expansion Pak will start adding GameCube games, too.

Sony’s emulation has become pretty good, and many of the retro games in its catalogue have been updated with Trophies, which is great to see. But it needs to get better at acquiring more recognisable releases, and deploying them at a quicker cadence.

One addition in May, Battle Engine Aquila, is not a satisfactory offering.

Are you satisfied with PS Plus Premium? (1,625 votes)

  1. Yes, it's very good value for money4%
  2. Meh, it's fine for what it is10%
  3. No, I'm disappointed with it right now52%
  4. I don't subscribe to PS Plus Premium34%