PlayStation 5 Premium's latest free perk doesn't justify price hike, fans complain

PlayStation Plus premium tier subscribers are in agreement that the newly announced introduction of cloud streaming, doesn’t justify the service’s recent price hike.

Yesterday was a busy day for PlayStation Plus. The October extra and premium tier additions were announced, as expected. In case you missed it, highlights include: Gotham Knights, Disco Elysium: The Final Cut, Alien Isolation, and Dead Island: Definitive Edition. In total, 15 new games will hit the platform this month. Sony also announced that they’re finally ready to launch cloud streaming for premium tier subscribers. Although considering that the tier rose in price by around a third earlier this year, subscribers say the latest perk simply isn’t worth the cost.

Take a look at Gotham Knights in action below.

Cloud streaming is a premium tier exclusive, and will allow users to stream select PlayStation Plus catalogue titles such as Horizon Forbidden West and Ghost of Tsushima, PlayStation Plus game trial titles inclusive of Hogwarts Legacy and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, as well as select PS5 digital titles including Resident Evil 4, Dead Island 2, Fall Guys, and Fortnite. Essentially, this means you don’t have to download the game to play it, saving you precious console storage.

It’s a PS5 exclusive, so won’t be available to premium tier PS4 users. Users will be able to choose from a 4K, 1440p, 1080p, or 720p resolution, with 60fps and SDR or HDR output. Cloud streaming will also include enhanced audio, and users can still capture gameplay clips of up to three minutes. Cloud streaming launches in Japan on 17 October, Europe on 23 October, and North America on 30 October.

Over on Reddit, fans weren’t impressed by the latest offering. “I really don’t see any purpose,” one wrote, while another added, “Who the hell asked for this?” Others complained that the feature wasn’t available to PC and PS4 users, or that a release date hadn’t been announced for their country. It awaits to be seen if cloud streaming is more popular in practice than it is following this reveal.