Post-Subscription Game Lifecycles Unveiled

There were so many new and exciting things announced when Sony unveiled the overhaul of its subscription service in 2022 that it was hard to keep up with it all. This led to some misconceptions, particularly regarding the different rotating libraries of games available for the tiers.

You have the PS Plus Essential monthly games, the Classics Catalog, and then some bonus games thrown on top to sweeten the deal for PS Plus Extra and Premium subscribers. Many of those games stay in your library after they leave the service, but not all of them do.

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Can I Still Play My PS Plus Extra and Premium Games After They Leave the Service?

The short answer to that question is no. Unlike the games available in the Essentials or Classics library, once the PS Plus Extra and Premium games leave the service, they are gone forever. This is still the case even if you downloaded and installed them on your PlayStation before they left.

Image Credit: PlayStation Blog

If you have downloaded and fallen in love with any of the games in the Extra or Premium libraries, you will have to buy it to continue playing after it leaves. Thankfully, your saved data remains intact, so you won’t have to start all over again if you purchase a game that left the service before you were able to finish it.

How Often Do Games Leave the PS Plus Extra and Premium Library?

The PS Plus Extra and Premium catalogs rotate every month. That means that games leave the service every month, but they are replaced with new games that you can explore instead.

There are hundreds of games in this rotation, however, so the monthly cycle doesn’t mean games are only playable for one month. Some titles can stay on the service for anywhere between a couple of months to a year.

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Choosing between the PS Plus Essential, Extra, or Premium tiers can be difficult, but perhaps knowing that the Extra and Premium tier games aren’t forever could be enough to sway your decision. But while these games will disappear from the service and your library one day, there are still hundreds of games available that not even the most avid of gamers could hope to get through.

PS Plus Extra and Premium Games Are Not Yours Forever

The fact that you can’t keep PS Plus Extra and Premium games forever is disappointing, but that’s just all the more reason to break out your DualSense controller more often, so you can finish them before they’re gone.

And if you did happen to fall in love with a game only to have it taken from you, you can rest easy knowing your saved data is still safe, and you can buy and finish the game whenever you want.

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