Sony is testing PS5 game cloud streaming for PS Plus Premium users

If Sony is going to enable PS5 game streaming on devices like its Project Q handheld, it needs to offer that streaming in the first place. Thankfully, that's on the horizon. The company is now testing streaming of PS5 games for PlayStation Plus Premium subscribers, including PS Plus Game Catalog titles and "supported digital PS5 titles that players own." You'll have to use your PS5 system, but this will save you the trouble of downloading games and chewing up valuable SSD space.

The test is in the "early stages." A launch window and other details will be available "when we're ready," Sony says.

PS Plus Premium normally costs $15 per month and already allows cloud gaming for PS3, PS4 and "classic" titles. You can also stream those titles on a PC. PS5 support should make the tier considerably more appealing, especially as Sony expands access beyond the PS5 itself. Project Q mates an 8-inch display with DualSense-equivalent controls and currently is only confirmed to work with Remote Play directly from a PlayStation 5 that you own.

This doesn't mean first-party games will be available to stream on launch day, as they sometimes are with Microsoft's Game Pass. Subscriptions head Nick Maguire tells GamesIndustry.biz that in-house titles will still be released "outside the service first." The existing approach of moving games to Premium a year or more later is "working," according to Maguire. In other words, the company wants to eke out as many purchases as it can. The mention of "digital titles you own" does suggest some games may be available to stream on day one, provided you're willing to buy them outright.

That still provides access to a significant library. As of next week, PS Plus is adding Far Cry 6, Inscryption, Rogue Legacy 2 and Soulstice to the PS5 section of the Game Catalog. While those aren't necessarily must-play titles, Premium streaming could make it relatively painless to check them out.