It can be a challenge to find free PS4 games, but it doesn’t have to be. We live in an age where games get ramped up with each generation, with more content, better graphics, and more attention to details. Of course, new doesn’t always mean better, and we’ve had to endure some bumps along the way like microtransactions and overpriced DLCs with thin content. But the fact that gaming is more accessible than ever has allowed us to enjoy amazing free PS4 games.
If you have a PS4 and find yourself in a financial pickle because, let’s face it, gaming is expensive; then, you don’t have to worry about finding yourself with nothing to play as there are countless options of fantastic free games to choose from. And if you’re wondering how to get PS4 games for free, let me introduce you to some methods that your wallet will thank you for.
Find Free-To-Play PS4 Games
You’d be surprised by the sheer amount of high-quality games that are ripe for the taking for any PS4 owner. Granted, a lot of them are Battle Royale games, such as Apex Legends, Fortnite, Warzone, and Hyper Scape, but it’s a genre that allows for a lot of replayability. Not to mention that developers dipping their toes into the PUBG and Fortnite craze often try new ways to add to the genre in order to separate themselves from the rest, and this practice leads to innovation.
Most of these games are multiplayer, which will also give you a lot of time to dedicate. So, even if you bought your PS4 brand new and have absolutely no games on it, you can dive into the store and find MMORPGs such as DC Universe Online or Star Trek Online; shooters like Warframe; brawlers like Brawlhalla, or incredible gems that you won’t believe are free such as Geshin Impact.
Download Demos
If you were surprised by the amount of Free-to-Play games the PS4 has to offer, imagine how I reacted when I learned that a lot of amazing games offer a free demo for PlayStation owners to download and try out. This offers an opportunity for players all around the world to have a shot at new games before deciding to buy them.
Just a few of these great games include Devil May Cry 5, Resident Evil 2, A Way Out, and For Honor. At the same time, others take it one step further to the point where their free demos can be compared to full-length experiences.
Destiny 2 launched its free version with a lot of missions, raids, and content to explore for those who just wanted to give it a try, and it is comparable to an entire campaign. Meanwhile, you also have Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 Lite, which includes the first five episodes of the story mode, along with online matches (which is the main reason many people play it in the first place), and the Hero Colosseum. And these are just a few examples. The truth is that there are a large number of triple-A games that offer some sort of Demo.
Demos have become a great way to find games that you otherwise wouldn’t have paid attention to. It’d be nice to have this become more of an industry standard. Not only because free stuff is always welcome, but because it can be jarring to take a look at a game, watch the trailer, get hyped, buy it and then realize you don’t really like it. Then, the only options left for you are to return it while you still can or let it gather dust in a corner of your room, and let’s face it, it’s probably going to be the latter of those two.
Gameshare With a Friend
Now, this is a tricky one. First of all, you should only do this with a friend you trust. Gameshare is a feature that allows PS4 owners to share their digital games with a friend. This has the potential of only having to buy half the games you’ll want to play. If you have a trusted friend or a family member you can do this with, then each of you could buy one game, share it with the other, and vice versa.
There are a few caveats, however. First, Sony has made it in such a way that you can only share your games with one person. So, if you were to try this with more than one person, you’ll risk getting your account banned, and anyone who owns their games digitally will tell you that is a terrible situation to be in.
Another one, and the reason why I can’t stress enough that it has to be someone you trust, is because, if you want to let your friend play your games, you will have to authorize your friend’s PS4 as your primary console, which will hand over control of your games to your friend and you won’t be able to access them on your account until you change it back.
So, let’s say you both want to play two games. You could each buy one game and let the other play the other by Gamesharing, effectively allowing you and your friend to play both games when each of you only bought one. Granted, you can use this same strategy by buying physical games and swapping them. But since digital games are becoming more and more prominent in the industry, demonstrated by the PlayStation 5’s digital edition console, it is worth noting that this is also something that you can do with digital games.
Another advantage of it is that you can both play the same game at the same time for a limited amount of time. On the flip side, one last disadvantage is that you both need to have a PlayStation Plus account in order to do this.
Use The PS Now Free Trial
Another great strategy to play free games on your PS4. This one comes with one condition; you will be limited to the seven-day free trial that PS Now offers. During the trial, you can play as many games as you possibly can from the very large library the service offers.
For those who don’t know, PS Now is a separate subscription-based service similar to Xbox’s Gamepass, where you’ll be able to stream or download classic games from past generations, and even a few current-gen ones.
If you have the time in your hands to pull off a few overnighters for a whole week, then you should be able to play at least a couple of games to completion.
I’d only recommend this strategy to those who have the time in their hands to make the most out of the trial, as well as those who have one or two games that they’ve always wanted to play but haven’t had the chance to.
It’s worth noting that not only does PS Now add new games to their library on a monthly basis, but also every few months, they’ll offer more recent games for a limited amount of time as part of their roster. This alone would make it worth taking advantage of the free trial. Once the period is over, you can cancel the subscription at our own leisure. And, worst-case scenario, you’ll find yourself with a good service that’s well worth its price tag to play some amazing games that you otherwise would not be able to.
Become a PlayStation Plus Member
This might sound counterintuitive as this is a paid monthly-based subscription, but it is well worth it. If you buy the yearly plan, you’ll spend the equivalent of a full-priced game for a service that allows you to play online and offers monthly options of free PS4 games to play. Not only that, but the PS Plus subscription will let you keep the free games you download even after the month ends. Of course, providing that you renew your subscription.
As a member of PlayStation Plus, you’re entitled to download from a selection of two, sometimes three, free games a month from your PSN account. These games change monthly, and while it has received its fair share of criticism from Sony’s fanbase a few times for the games it has offered, it’s worth noting that the last couple of years have seen some remarkable classics as monthly freebies.
From PlayStation classics to triple-A hits, PlayStation Plus has introduced a lot of players to new and incredible games for free. Even if some of the games are not your cup of tea, the rotating selection allows you to try games that maybe you wouldn’t have paid attention to otherwise.
As a personal experience, I never tried Bloodborne back when it came out because I thought it would not suit me. But PlayStation Plus offered it for free for a month, and I decided to give it a try. It has now turned into one of my favorite games of all time, and I didn’t have to pay a single dime for it.
Let’s also consider that if you were to pay the yearly subscription, which is $60 in the US, and download all the free games they offer throughout the year; you’d be getting 24 games for the price of one.
Take Advantage Of Discounts
Now, considering all that’s been said before, does not mean that there are not surprising deals out there. In this case, the best you can do for your wallet is to be patient.
While there might be a few games that you cannot wait to play and will get them on their launch day, the truth is that most games you’ll want to play can wait until they are on sale. Most sites allow you to have a wish list and will notify you when one of the games listed is on sale. In this case, you’ll want to wait and do your research since there are lots of options out that’ll help you save a few bucks.
You can go to places like eBay or Craigslist if you don’t mind playing second-hand games. There, you’ll find a lot of games for half or even a quarter of their actual price at any given time.
Another way of getting cheap or free games is with a perk that comes with being a PS Plus member: And that is that you might get an extra percentage off a discount just for having the subscription. Sony does this all the time as a way to incentivize people to keep paying for the service. And it’ s well worth it if you’re an avid gamer that likes to tip their toes in different types of games of all sorts of genres.
What you’ll see a lot of the times is that there might be an extra 10-20% off on top of a game that’s already discounted, decreasing the game’s price dramatically.
If that doesn’t sound like a killer deal, I don’t know what is.
Avoid Scam And Piracy Sites
There’s a myriad of websites out there promising free PSN codes and such to get you to click their site. Not to mention fake contests that ask for your credit card information in order to enter. It goes without saying that some of these are obvious charades, but some people need to be reminded that you have to exercise caution since not everything is what it seems, especially on the Internet.
Some sites are subtler than others in this regard. Maybe you wouldn’t download a torrent under the impression that you’ll get a PS4 game for free instead of malware, but someone in your household might.
The truth is that the best way to get free games is to go to the official sources: The PlayStation Store, Epic Games Store, Ubisoft’s U-Play store, Steam and Origin for PC gamers, and so forth.
Believe me, it is very easy to lose a few hundred, or potentially thousands of dollars in a scam because you tried to get a new release game for free on a sketchy website. And while search engines like Google have become more sophisticated in identifying these kinds of sites, the truth is that scammers have also evolved.
Not to mention that you risk wasting time just trying to pull off that “one glitch that allows you to buy a hundred games from the Play Store for free!!!” It’s better to simply ignore such claims.
Most of the time, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
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