Stardew Valley is completely free to claim right now, and you don't even need a PlayStation Plus subscription to make it yours.
When it comes to being dubbed as an “indie darling”, perhaps no game is more deserving of that moniker than Stardew Valley, developed and published by ConcernedApe.
Ever since its original release in 2016, it has rivalled the likes of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim when it comes to multiple releases on multiple platforms, and that’s saying something.
That being said, there’s a good reason why the likes of Stardew Valley and Skyrim have been ported so often, and it’s because they’re both great games, and fans can never get enough.
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One Stardew Valley port in particular arrived in 2018 on Sony’s criminally neglected handheld console, the PS Vita. Some could argue that the best way to play this delightful indie game would be in the palm of your hand, on the go.
Recently, Stardew Valley was included in PlayStation Plus Essential for September 2025, along with Psychonauts 2 and Viewfinder (all of which are available to download now).
However, seemingly by accident, you don't need a PlayStation Plus subscription to make Stardew Valley yours after all, because via some kind of technical loophole, you can claim it for free, but there is a catch.
As brought to our attention by Wario64 on Twitter, you can claim Stardew Valley for free on the aforementioned PS Vita.
“Stardew Valley is free to own (not a limited PlayStation Plus license) if you have a PS Vita and PS Plus,” tweeted Wario64. “Claim Stardew Valley (PS4 version) on PlayStation. Use a PS Vita and search for Stardew Valley. It'll be free via cross-buy.”
“I can confirm the game is not tied to PlayStation Plus once you claim it for free on the PS Vita (free to own - no time limit shown).”
Wario64 then followed up with a reply to the tweet. You can also claim Stardew Valley for free via the PlayStation 3 PSN store by following similar steps shown above.
Once complete, the PS4 and PS Vita versions of the game will be yours to keep, even without a PS Plus subscription, apparently.
There’s every chance that Sony might get rid of this loophole to claim Stardew Valley, so you might want to claim it sooner rather than later, just in case.
If you’ve never played Stardew Valley, you might want to change that now to see what all the fuss has been about. I doubt you’ll regret it.
Topics: Stardew Valley, Indie Games, Free Games, PlayStation, PlayStation 4