Is now the right time to re-up your PlayStation Plus subscription? The cost of gaming keeps getting more expensive. Earlier this year, Sony hiked the prices of all its consoles and the cost of its gaming subscription, PlayStation Plus. With the announcement that it plans to eliminate all physical games in the near future, does it make sense to move to a gaming subscription model?
Like Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass, every month Sony also adds new titles to its video game streaming service. To the uninitiated, PS Plus is a bit more complicated than Game Pass. While Sony grants subscribers access to three monthly titles, depending on your tier, you’ll be able to play from its Game Catalog, Ubisoft+ Classics, and Classics Catalog. This month, we’ll see a highly anticipated indie multiplayer game, plus several other additions to Sony’s offering.
Here’s everything new coming to PlayStation Plus this August and how to decide if this game streaming subscription is worth the money.
New to PlayStation Plus for August 2026
Whether you subscribe to the Essential, Extra, or Premium tier of PS Plus, all subscribers gain access to the service’s three monthly games. This round will be available from August 4 to August 31. They are:
1. Big Walk (PS5) – August 4
Following up on Untitled Goose Game from 2019, Australian indie developer House House returns with Big Walk. This multiplayer cooperative adventure game brings you and your friends together to traverse the game’s open-world environment and solve puzzles while finding means to communicate. It supports up to 12 people and promises a more chaotic experience the more players you add.
2. Dying Light 2: Stay Human (PS4, PS5) – August 4
Like zombie survival games? Dying Light 2 is an action RPG that’s set in an open-world European city. It features a robust parkour traversal system, upgradeable weapons, and a world that will change depending on your in-game decisions. You’ll be fighting the undead during the daytime and running for your life when night falls.
3. Signalis (PS4) – August 4
This award-winning survival horror game follows a replicant’s exploration of a mining facility filled with hostile creatures. Inspired by Silent Hill and Resident Evil, fans of the genre should be drawn to its themes and gameplay mechanics.
New to PS Plus Game Catalog for August 2026
In addition to the monthly games, those who subscribe to the Extra or Premium tier gain new titles in the service’s Game Catalog, a large collection of games that can be played with an active subscription. Here are the most recent additions:
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Rise of the Ronin (PS5) – July 15
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Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora (PS5) – July 21
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Firefighting Simulator: Ignite (PS5) – July 21
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Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind (PS4, PS5) – July 28
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Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector (PS5) – July 28
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Snow Bros. Wonderland (PS5) – July 28
New to PS Plus Classics Catalog for August 2026
If you subscribe to the Premium tier, you gain access to the Classic Catalog, which is loaded with PS1, PS2, and PS3 classics. These are the most recent additions:
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Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy (PS4, PS5) – July 21
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Indigo Prophecy (PS4) – July 21
What Games Are Leaving PlayStation Plus in August
Here’s what’s leaving the service on August 18:
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What Do You Get With PlayStation Plus?
In 2022, Sony merged its PlayStation Plus online multiplayer service and the PlayStation Now game subscription to create one platform that unlocks online gaming, cloud storage, exclusive offerings, and Share Play. Select additional games are also offered at no extra cost, with the exact details dependent on your subscription tier. Speaking generally, the higher the tier, the more games you can access.
Here’s how much each PS Plus membership tier currently costs and what you get for the money:
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Essential:At $10.99 per month, Essential is PlayStation’s cheapest plan, offering online multiplayer, cloud storage, and three games to play each month.
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Extra: Increasing to $16.99 per month for the Extra plan will also gain you access to the Game Catalog and a collection of Ubisoft games.
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Premium: For $19.99 per month, the Premium plan promises classic PlayStation games, game trials, PS5 cloud streaming, and access to a collection of films from Sony Pictures.
Is PlayStation Plus Worth the Money?
PlayStation Plus may make more sense for your wallet than buying games outright. It all comes down to what type of gamer you are, how often you play, and whether you care about owning your games.
The monthly games that PlayStation adds to its Plus tiers only stick around for about four weeks, so make sure to claim them if you want them to stay in your library. The service also regularly adds and removes titles from its Game Catalog. You’ll need to keep track of how long games will be available to make sure you get to play the titles you’re most excited about.
As an example, let’s say you want to play all three of August’s monthly games, Big Walk ($19.99), Dying Light 2 ($59.99), and Signalis ($19.99). That’s $100 worth of games for just the $10.99 monthly service cost. That’s a steal, as long as you claim them before the month is up. Once claimed, they’ll appear in your library for however long you’re subscribed.
But if you’re more interested in the service’s giant Game Catalog, you’ll want to pay attention to when titles leave so you can play them before they disappear and get your money’s worth. And if you’re not interested in a set of games one month or need to give your wallet a break, you can cancel the monthly plan at any time. You won’t be able to access any games you claimed after you cancel, but they’ll be available again once you restart the service.
If you don’t care about owning what you pay for or don’t plan to replay games, PlayStation Plus might be the more affordable gaming option for you. Just make sure the games you’re getting are actually worth the price of admission. If not, rotating subscriptions can be a good way to keep your monthly subscription costs low.
About Our Expert
Jason Cohen
Senior Editor, Help & How To
Experience
As PCMag’s editor of how to content, I have to cover a wide variety of topics and also make our stories accessible to everyday users. Considering my history as a technical writer, copywriter, and all-around freelancer covering baseball, comics, and more at various outlets, I am used to making myself into an expert.
I believe tech corporations are bad, but you might as well know how to use technology in everyday life. Want more how to content delivered right to your inbox? Sign up for the tips and tricks newsletter that I curate three times a week.
My job as how-to guru means I use just about every gadget under the sun, so I can figure out how everything works. I work from a Lenovo ThinkPad running Windows 11, but also have a very large Dell Inspiron 17 3000 and Apple silicon MacBook. I have a Google Pixel 6a for personal use and use a Galaxy Z Flip 4 for additional Samsung-related testing. For iOS coverage, an iPhone 13 mini works like a charm, though it’s already becoming a little long in the tooth.
My desktop situation includes a dual monitor setup with a modest Acer monitor. I also use a Logitech vertical mouse (who can use these ThinkPad trackpads) and a Havit keyboard (my first mechanical keyboard; I love it but my wife hates it!). I’m a recent convert from wired headphones; I have Anker Soundcore Liberty Air wireless earbuds for personal use and have taken to the Sennheiser HD 450BT headphones for work.
Whenever I have a second to myself, I’m probably gaming on my Nintendo Switch 2, Steam Deck, or Xbox Series S. I also still have a bunch of classic consoles lying around as well.
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