23 free games on playstation without ps plus



Can you play free to play games without ps plus

Its aesthetic may be inspired by Breath of the Wild, but Genshin Impact also stands out for its compelling combat system and narrative. The amount of content is stunning, and you can easily get through it all by earning in-game currency to unlock new characters.

23 Online Games That Don’t Require PlayStation Plus

These online games can be played with no Playstation Plus subscription! Time to download them.

A Fall Guy with a watermelon hat, The PlayStation Plus logo, A couple of soldiers by a frozen river

Highlights

  • Console makers charge fees for online services, but there are many popular games available to play for free without PlayStation Plus.
  • Tower of Fantasy, World of Warships: Legends, and KartRider: Drift are excellent free games to play on PS5 without the need for PS Plus.
  • Other notable free games include Neverwinter, Super Animal Royale, Brawlhalla, Splitgate, Rogue Company, and many more.

It's no secret that console makers love to make money, and Sony's PlayStation is one of the biggest culprits. They charge a fee for you to access their online services — called PlayStation Plus — which range from $60 to $120 per year depending upon the tier you choose. Not everyone can shell out this kind of cash, which is why they look to play online games that don't require this service at all.

You might be surprised by how many popular games are available to play without paying Sony a single dollar. You can easily sink hundreds of hours into these excellent games either alone or with friends and never have to worry about renewing your membership on time.

Updated August 31, 2023, by Kyle Chamaillard. As time goes on, it's become popular for some of the biggest multiplayer games in the industry to allow you to interact with them without a subscription to Nintendo, Microsoft, or Sony's online services. Some games have even abandoned their original subscription-based plans and gone free-to-play to let even more people enjoy them.

Thankfully, plenty of games don't require an expensive subscription. Many contain in-game stores where you can purchase skins if you like; otherwise, you can play them forever without spending a dime. We've decided to update this list to showcase even more free games you can play on PS5 without PS Plus.

23 Tower Of Fantasy

A group of characters prepare to dance on a stage

Tower of Fantasy is one of the newest games to launch on PlayStation, having become available on the console in August 2023, and if you enjoy open-world games like Genshin Impact, it might be worth looking into. The game has been available on mobile devices since 2022, but if you prefer to play games on the big screen, the PlayStation version is the best way to experience it.

There is so much to do in this action-based sci-fi adventure, you can easily spend dozens of hours exploring the planet of Aida before feeling a drop of boredom. Whether you want to visit Tower of Fantasy's giant social hubs with a party of friends or explore the world to uncover new secrets, the game provides an engaging and thrilling ecosystem of activities that continue to expand as it becomes more popular.

22 World Of Warships: Legends

A ship blows up its target from across the ocean

One of the most compelling reasons to download World of Warships: Legends on your PlayStation is that there really isn't anything else like it on the console - especially for free. Naval-based combat might not be for everyone, but you might be surprised by how fun it is to take down enemy ships by using new strategies and maneuvers.

There are a plethora of factors that go into each match, but even at a slower pace than games like Call of Duty or Battlefield, you can expect a single battle to last anywhere from nine to 15 minutes. Of course, if you have eight other friends who also want to live life out on the sea, you can squad together for tense 9v9 matches against other players.

21 KartRider: Drift

A group of racers drive down a road toward a ramp

There are plenty of battle royales and brawlers that you can play on PlayStation for free, but sometimes you just want to put down your weapons to feel the virtual wind on your skin. KartRider: Drift is a free-to-play arcade racer that allows you to compete against seven other people online in the traditional Speed Mode or the chaotic Item Mode.

For a free game, KartRider: Drift gives you a ton of freedom to customize your vehicle and character without spending any money. Constant updates keep it from ever feeling stale, as new tracks, cosmetics, and seasonal content continue to fill the virtual store with even more goodies for you to collect. KartRider: Drift also features crossplay, so you can play against any of your friends who have it on Switch, Xbox, PC, or mobile.

20 Neverwinter

Aribeth stands in front of a flower-covered wall holding a sword

Neverwinter is an MMORPG that takes a lot of inspiration from Dungeons and Dragons. While it already contains an incredibly compelling story to play through with friends, it also allows other players to create and share their own quests and storylines that make it impossible to run out of things to do.

You can choose between one of eight classes, like Ranger or Warlock, and play with four other characters as you try to save Neverwinter from chaos. The combat system is flawless and requires some strategy as you face off against heroes and villains across the Forgotten Realms.

19 Super Animal Royale

A fox, red panda, and cat parachute down to an island

There are so many battle royale games that feature similar visual styles and gameplay it becomes hard to tell some of them apart. Super Animal Royale mixes things up with cuter aesthetics and characters, but it's just as fun to play as other titles like Apex Legends and Fortnite.

Super Animal Royale is an isometric take on the battle royale genre that pits 64 adorable foxes, cats, bears, and more against each other. As you run around the abandoned safari park, you can collect weapons to take down your enemies, ride on a giant emu to quickly travel across the map, and attack anything in your path.

18 Brawlhalla

Ulgrim attacks Orion with his axe

If you're looking to play an online fighter with a wide array of characters and stages, Brawlhalla might be what you need. It includes over fifty playable Legends that use scythes, swords, and plenty of other weapons to fight each other. It launched with original characters, but over time familiar faces from Street Fighter, the WWE, and more have joined the roster.

Like Super Smash Bros., you fight on a two-dimensional stage and must knock your opponents off of it to taste sweet victory. After launching in 2017, Brawlhalla has continued to receive updates and patches to keep it in the zeitgeist and has reported more than 80 million players as of early 2022.

17 Splitgate

A player peeks into an enemy area using a portal

Splitgate felt like it appeared out of nowhere when its beta launched in 2021, and it quickly became one of the most popular games of the year despite frequent server issues. The developers weren't expecting their shooter that blends elements of Halo and Portal to blow up like it did and had to constantly increase their server capacity to meet demands.

The developers were so overwhelmed by the success of Splitgate that they have already announced that they will no longer be updating it as they work on its sequel from the ground up. It's still worth checking out Splitgate to get a taste of what's next, and its mind-bending gameplay is so fun it's hard to put down.

16 Rogue Company

The Fixer adjusts his glasses while holding a sniper

Rogue Company is a third-person shooter with various PvP modes to play. The game features over twenty playable heroes - known as Rogues - that possess unique and fun abilities. They all have their own perks and load-outs, but you'll need to earn some in-game currency to unlock them all.

If you need something new to play either alone or with a group of friends, it's worth checking out Rogue Company. It's got a great cast of characters and surprisingly fun gunplay. It might not be a game you play forever, but it's still a blast to hop into from time to time.

15 Sky: Children Of The Light

Two Sky Children soar through the sky

Sky: Children of the Light was developed by the same team that created Flower and Journey, and it focuses on the social elements of online multiplayer games more than riveting gameplay or mind-blowing graphics. Like in Journey, Sky is the most enjoyable when shared with a friend or sometimes someone you've never even met before.

Originally developed for iOS before being ported to the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4, Sky is a vibes game that encourages you to embrace the unknown and explore each realm at whichever pace you like. It might not be for everyone, but Sky: Children of the Light offers an online experience unlike anything else available.

14 Smite

A Titan gets blasted away during battle

Smite is free-to-play and throws you into an online multiplayer battle arena. You can play as one of many gods and goddesses and use their powerful abilities to defeat other players. Each character has powerful attacks and abilities and must work alongside their teams to win any of Smite's game modes.

It can be incredibly overwhelming at first to try and find the right character, but it is all part of the fun, and each one has something to offer. If you are looking for a game that requires some strategy and hundreds of hours of replayability, Smite can fill that void without a single transaction.

13 Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel

Called By The Grave uses a chain effect during a match

If you want to take a break from shooting or fighting other players online, Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel is an excellent deck-building strategy game for both longtime fans of the series and curious newcomers. Even if you've never played a digital card game before, the tutorials explain each mechanic thoroughly without feeling overwhelming.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel lets you build your own deck or choose a pre-made one from the glossary if you're feeling unsure about which strategies and cards you want to use. There are hundreds of cards to collect, and hopping into a match against another player doesn't take long. It's a fantastic and free alternative to other deck-builders like Slay the Spire.

12 Fall Guys

A Fall Guy wearing a watermelon hat celebrates a victory with two other contenders behind it

When Fall Guys initially launched in 2020, it required you to subscribe to PlayStation Plus to play it. It's an online multiplayer game that pits up to sixty players against each other in a variety of obstacle courses, events, and other gameshow-inspired activities.

In early 2022, however, the developers decided to transition Fall Guys into a free-to-play game, thus eliminating the need for a subscription. This was a wise decision as the player count rose instantly and helped bring it back into the spotlight. It's a hilarious spin on the battle royale genre full of different games to play and cool costumes to collect.

11 Genshin Impact

Aether, Paimon, Venti and Diluc soar through the air with a dragon

Genshin Impact is an open-world RPG that focuses on fantasy elements and contains a plethora of characters to unlock and control. It uses gacha mechanics to determine which heroes you get, but you can easily just spend your time getting lost in its gorgeous world.

Its aesthetic may be inspired by Breath of the Wild, but Genshin Impact also stands out for its compelling combat system and narrative. The amount of content is stunning, and you can easily get through it all by earning in-game currency to unlock new characters.

10 Overwatch 2

Winston, Moira, Sojourn, and Lucio fight Mercy, Junker Queen, and Zenyatta

While Overwatch 2 changed up some core mechanics from its predecessor, like switching from 6v6 to 5v5 and removing the loot box system, one of the most significant differences is that Overwatch 2 is now free-to-play. The original Overwatch cost $59 at launch and required a PlayStation Plus subscription, but you and your friends can play its sequel without spending a cent.

Overwatch 2 contains all the characters from the original title, and it's also expanded the roster with excellent additions like Sojourn, Lifeweaver, and Junker Queen. New game modes like Push require you to explore new strategies and team compositions. There are also Story Missions available to play through, but it will cost you $15 to access them.

9 Warframe

An Operator attacks a group of enemies

Originally released in 2013, Warframe has come a long way and continues to be free-to-play despite receiving massive amounts of new content. This third-person action game contains multiple PvE and PvP modes that you can play with your friends to unlock even more content.

Like Genshin Impact, there is so much to do in Warframe that it might initially be overwhelming. You can customize your character any way you like with a slew of powerful abilities that are incredibly fun to use, and once you start, you can spend hours exploring new planets and learning about the factions within its universe.

8 Rec Room

An avatar stands on stage surrounded by a giant blue dragon

There are so many shooters and role-playing games available to play, but sometimes you need something different. Rec Room is a massive platform full of other games to play around in and can be played either inside or outside a PSVR headset.

Rec Room comes with a bunch of activities when you first download it, but the best content is created and shared by users using its in-game tool set. There is so much to do and see inside Rec Room; you can easily hop in with friends and find something new to play or experience daily.

7 Apex Legends

Revenant stands in front of an explosion with its hand in the air

Apex Legends is one of the more successful battle royale games, thanks to its diverse roster of characters and exceptional gunplay. It was created by Respawn Entertainment - primarily known for the Titanfall series - until they released this excellent multiplayer game in early 2019.

Like other battle royales, you'll have to loot your weapons and armor at the start of a match, but the characters and their unique abilities allow it to stand out from the rest. Most matches usually contain teams of three facing off until the end, so it's perfect for playing with a couple of friends.

6 Paladins

Heroes prepare to attack each other at the Fish Market

This team-based game is set in a fantasy world with a colorful and enchanting aesthetic unlike anything you've seen before. Many people have compared Paladins to Overwatch, but it's much more different once you get into it.

You will choose a champion and work together with a team to accomplish various objectives and claim victory over your opponents. It's an incredibly dense experience full of heroes to master and strategies to learn, and each mode contains hours of fun without needing a PlayStation Plus subscription.

5 Rocket League

An Esper parks in front of a massive city

Rocket League combines soccer and cool cars into one as you are tasked with using your best vehicle to shoot a ball into the goal. It might sound like a pretty easy concept, but once you add in tricky aerial shots and rotation strategies, you realize it takes a high level of skill that's satisfying to learn.

You can customize your car however you like and play with up to four people on a team, although the competitive ranked play system is what really draws a crowd. Combining soccer and sweet rides was a brilliant idea from Psyonix, and it's one of the best and most adrenaline-pumping free-to-play games out there.

4 Call Of Duty: Warzone

A group of soldiers advance on snowy terrain as an explosion happens near them

It was inevitable that Call of Duty would join the battle royale genre eventually, and Warzone has proven to be one of the best options out there. It's much more realistic than its competitors, so if you don't like how Fortnite looks or the character abilities in Apex Legends, this might be the one for you.

Warzone drops you onto a huge map and focuses on realism in terms of guns, gear, and tactics. The pace of this game is a bit slower than others, but for some people, that's exactly what they're looking for. It's been applauded for its atmosphere and gameplay, as well as the amazing operator skins you can unlock - like Snoop Dogg and Rambo.