PS Plus continues to forget Premium subscribers with latest update

The next bundle of games heading to PS Plus has been announced, but might disappoint Premium subscribers.

A bumper crop of 10 games will be hitting PS Plus's Premium and Extra libraries on August 16. As listed in a PlayStation blog post, they're headlined by a trio of Yakuza titles – Yakuza 0, Yakuza Kiwami, and Yakuza Kiwami 2. All three are beloved action RPGs, with Yakuza 0 arguably offering the best entry point into the main series.

They’ll be joined by asymmetric multiplayer horror game Dead by Daylight, which challenges four players to fend off – or more likely flee from – a single unstoppable killer. It’s proven to be one of the more popular multiplayer slashers of recent years, and we even reckon it’s one of the best horror games around.

Critter-catcher Bugsnax is also coming to the subscription service, alongside open-world co-op shooter Ghost Recon Wildlands. Bugsnax hit Xbox Game Pass only a few months ago, while Ghost Recon Wildlands was also added earlier this month. All that points to a growing crossover between PS Plus and Game Pass.

A few older titles and smaller games will also be making their way to Sony's subscription platform. Here’s all the games coming to PS Plus on August 16:

• Yakuza 0
• Yakuza Kiwami
• Yakuza Kiwami 2
• Dead by Daylight
• Ghost Recon Wildlands
• Bugsnax
• Metro Exodus
• Trials of Mana
• Uno
• Monopoly Madness
• Monopoly Plus

Retro no-show

(Image credit: Sega)

While that’s a hefty number of new games, there’s one big omission among them: retro titles. One of PS Plus Premium’s main selling points is its roster of classic PS1, PS2, PSP and PS3 games that players can download and play on demand. But any retro enthusiasts hoping to dig into Sony’s back catalog will have nothing new to play from this month’s line-up.

It’s a repeat of last month’s PS Plus showing, which also included no additional retro games besides two PSP ports. Sony again looks to have forgotten about Premium members, who might feel frustrated that their higher subscription fee is netting them few monthly benefits over the cheaper Extra tier.

With the revamped PS Plus platform only launching a couple of months ago, Premium members are still likely enjoying the massive collection of retro games included at its release. But that won’t keep them occupied forever, especially as many of them are simply carried over from the old PlayStation Now service. 

If future PS Plus monthly line-ups continue to offer no new retro games, Premium subscribers might decide the extra $3 / £2.50 / AU$3 monthly cost simply isn’t worth it.

• Nintendo is offering the chance to try out Splatoon 3 before its release