PlayStation's latest State of Play presentation was a success, playing host to some big third-party announcements. At the event, Resident Evil 4 remake was officially revealed, Street Fighter 6 was announced, and Final Fantasy 16 received an impressive new gameplay trailer. The State of Play also confirmed a new PlayStation Plus game for July 2022 that will be a day one release, similar to the Xbox Game Pass day one releases.
One of the games featured at the State of Play was the PlayStation console exclusive cat game Stray, which received a stunning trailer and confirmation that it will be available to play come July 19. It was also confirmed that Stray will be a day one game for PlayStation Plus subscribers who are signed up for the more expensive PS Plus Extra and PS Plus Premium tiers.
Sony will be making big changes to PlayStation Plus in the near future, with the PS Plus revamp scheduled to begin on June 13 in North America. Once this happens, PlayStation Plus fans will have three different tiers to choose from: PS Plus Essential, PS Plus Extra, and PS Plus Premium. PS Plus Essential is the same-old PS Plus that fans should be used to by now, whereas PS Plus Extra combines PS Plus and PlayStation Now, throwing in some extra high-profile games on top. PS Plus Premium is the highest tier, and it features everything found in PS Plus Essential and Extra, in addition to a host of retro games.
The new PS Plus tiers are Sony's attempt at competing with Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass subscription service. And since one of the main selling points of Xbox Game Pass is its day one new releases, it makes sense that Sony will be countering with its own day one releases when it comes to some games. Fans shouldn't expect first-party PlayStation games to be available to PS Plus subscribers on day one, but Stray is proof that fans can still look forward to at least some higher-profile games being added to the lineup.
There is a key difference between the games made available to play through PS Plus Extra and PS Plus Premium that fans should keep in mind, however. Unlike the free PS Plus games that are released every month, the games that are added to the PS Plus Extra and Premium tiers are not free to keep. They work like Xbox Game Pass, where games are cycled in and out of the lineup. So while PlayStation Plus subscribers won't be able to keep Stray when it's added to the PS Plus Extra and Premium tiers, they will be able to play it as much as they want while it's on the service.