Other notable releases include Giant Squid’s Sword of the Sea, launching on the same day worldwide for PS5 and PC. Subscribers can also check out Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End and the Secret Key, Coral Island, Earth Defense Force 6, Harold Halibut, Indika and Unicorn Overlord. It’s a solid line-up, especially for role-playing game fans.

However, that’s not all for Premium/Deluxe subscribers, as they can also play Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, two legendary PS One classics, on PS4 and PS5. Both titles support quick save, custom filters, rewind and up-rendering for a smoother experience.

Launched in 2000, Final Fantasy 9 is the last title in the series for the PlayStation One. The story is about Zidane, a member of a bandit troupe known as Tantalus, who kidnaps Garnet, the princess of Alexandria, during a theater performance. While the premise is simple enough, the group finds themselves embroiled in Alexandria’s war-mongering and its impact on the world.

Final Fantasy 9 has received extensive acclaim since its launch and sold 8.9 million copies as of March 2025. Rumors of a remake have been circulating since last year, which Square Enix has yet to confirm despite all the hype surrounding the 25th anniversary. As always, stay tuned for any potential updates in the coming months.

Twisted Metal 3 and 4, the former launched in 1998 and the latter in 1999 for PlayStation One, debut on July 15th. Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, both critically acclaimed survival titles, will debut later this Summer.

Of course, you need the right tier to play Classic titles, which is PlayStation Plus Premium/Deluxe. It costs $17.99 monthly and $49.99 quarterly; the yearly membership currently retails for $107.19, a 33 percent discount until June 6th.

Subscribers can avail all the benefits of previous tiers, including free monthly games, the PlayStation Plus Extra catalogue, Ubisoft+ Classics, Share Play, and much more. Stay tuned for more announcements on other Classics coming to the service in the coming months.

15. Need for Speed: High Stakes

When players still had some measure of sympathy and expectations from Electronic Arts, the Need for Speed series delivered its fourth title – High Stakes. It featured new additions to the timeworn formula, including realistic damage, a deeper Hot Pursuit mode where players could control the police and tournaments. High Stakes also pushed the limits of risk vs reward, resulting in some real high stakes (pun fully intended).

They include Dave the Diver, Construction Simulator, Raji: An Ancient Epic, Nour: Play With Your Food and Deliver Us Mars, all playable on PS4 and PS5. PS4 players can look forward to The Crew 2, Oddballers, The Lego Ninjago Movie Videogame and Lego Marvel’s Avengers. Finally, Miasma Chronicles and Stray Blade are playable exclusively on PS5.

PlayStation Plus Premium subscribers can look forward to three classic titles – Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare, Star Wars: Rebel Assault 2: The Hidden Empire and MediEvil, all from the PlayStation One era and playable on PS4 and PS5. Stay tuned for more updates on the Game Catalog in the coming weeks.

However, that’s not all. The title can also create save data for titles like Snatcher, Policenauts and more (as reported by @MGSMGN). Why is this important? In the original PS One release of Metal Gear Solid, Psycho Mantis could read the player’s memory card and reference other Konami games, breaking the Fourth Wall. The Master Collection allows players to recreate that phenomenon.

As @MGSMGN notes, this function never existed in the original release. @HEITAIs, a user who follows the Metal Gear Solid series, chimed in with images of the same, stating, “Master Collection MGS1 has the ability for users to create any save data of Konami’s PS1 games not released on PS5 or Switch to recreate the memory card loading of the Psycho Mantis battle. The JP version allows you to create save data for Policenauts, Snatcher, etc.”

They also confirm that the function is available to US and European players, with the former able to create save data for Vandal Hearts, Castlevania, Suikoden and more, while the latter can create Silent Hill data. Is this the extent of additional features, or is Konami hiding more? We’ll find out when the collection launches on October 24th for PS4, PS5, PC, Nintendo Switch and Xbox Series X/S.

BREAKING NEWS: Ok, bare with me for a moment while I explain something. So a few weeks back, I made a post about a "Easter egg" type feature in MGS(1) where Psycho Mantis would read your PS1 memory card for certain saves you may have that would trigger certain lines from him,… pic.twitter.com/cWJDtgxloU

— Metal Gear Network – MGN (@MGSMGN) September 23, 2023

Yes Master Collection MGS1 had the ability for users to create any save data of Konami's PS1 games not released on PS5 or Switch to recreate the memory card loading of the Psycho Mantis battle.

The JP version allows you to create save data for Policenauts, Snatcher, etc., pic.twitter.com/vb9eq4XEGz

— 兵隊 (@HEITAIs) September 23, 2023

This specification is also available in the US and EU ver of the Master Collection, with the US ver allowing the creation of save data for Castlevania, Vandal Hearts, Other Life: Other Dreams, and Gensou Suikoden, while the EU ver allows the creation of data for Silent Hill.

— 兵隊 (@HEITAIs) September 23, 2023

Check out the range of titles coming to both Extra and Premium:

• Adventure Time Pirates of the Enchiridion (PS4)
• Ben 10: Power Trip (PS5, PS4)
• The Escapists 2 (PS4)
• Evil Genius 2: World Domination (PS5, PS4)
• Far Cry 5 (PS4)
• Far Cry New Dawn (PS4)
• Far Cry Primal (PS4)
• Gigantosaurus The Game (PS4)
• Judgment (PS5, PS4)
• Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor (PS4)
• Middle-Earth: Shadow of War (PS4)
• Mortal Shell (PS5, PS4)
• The Pedestrian (PS5, PS4)
• Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire – Ultimate Edition (PS4)
• WWE 2K22 (PS4)
• Yakuza 6: The Song of Life (PS4)
• Yakuza: Like a Dragon (PS5, PS4)
• Worms W.M.D (PS4)

Some heavy hitters include Judgment and Yakuza: Like a Dragon, playable on PS5 and PS4. Far Cry 5 and New Dawn may also be worth jumping into, while Far Cry Primal offers a prehistoric spin on the series’ open-world gameplay.

Premium subscribers also get new Classic titles this month, including Pinball Heroes and Ridge Racer 2 on the PlayStation Portable. Oddworld: Abe’s Exoddus on the PlayStation One and Ninja Theory’s Heavenly Sword on PS3 are also being added. For more details on the free titles offered with PlayStation Plus Essential, head here.

PlayStation Plus Extra is available for $14.99 monthly and $99.99 yearly. PlayStation Plus Premium costs $17.99 monthly and $119.99 yearly. Stay tuned for more details on future additions to both tiers in the coming weeks.

Killzone 2

You have to feel bad for Guerrilla Games. Its first game, Killzone, was touted as a “Halo killer” in 2004 and barely passed muster. While work was going on with Killzone 2, Sony debuted a trailer at E3 2005 that was claimed to be “real gameplay.” It wasn’t, of course, and caused a fair amount of controversy (with Guerrilla mortified that it was claimed to be real). As such, when Killzone 2 was re-revealed in 2007, there was even more pressure on whether the visuals were the real deal or not.

The initial $20 million budget shot up to $40 to 45 million and by February 2009, the sequel was released. Fortunately, its visuals were not only from the actual game but actually superior to the E3 2005 target render demo. Critics praised it as well and by April 2009, it sold one million copies. While not quite recouping its initial budget immediately, it established Guerrilla as a force to reckon with and one that could surpass excessive hype.

Metal Gear Solid

A climactic battle atop Metal Gear REX, a daring escape while firing at pursuers and Liquid Snake finally dying of FOXDIE – the ending to Metal Gear Solid is over-the-top in all the best ways. Meryl and Snake ride off into the sunset and the credits roll…but afterwards, we’re treated to Revolver Ocelot speaking to who else but the President of the United States. Not only was Ocelot a double agent but the President is none other than Solidus Snake, the third clone of Big Boss. It only gets weirder in Metal Gear Solid 2.

Though PlayStation Plus doesn’t have a whole lot to look forward to this month, the same can’t be said for Xbox Live Gold. Microsoft has announced the free Games With Gold for Xbox One and Xbox 360. While Big Crown: Showdown and Meet the Robinsons may not appeal to you, there’s also Inside and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.

Inside is from Playdead and offers atmospheric platforming, much like Limbo. It sees a boy traveling through a strange, dimly lit world, gleaning details about mind control and other horrors from his environment. Suffice it to say that the ending comes out of nowhere. Inside is available for free from July 1st to 31st.

As for Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, it’s one of the titles to contribute to the Metroidvania genre and arguably the finest title in the franchise. It’s developed by Koji Igarashi, who recently released a spiritual successor to the title in Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. Despite its age, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is well worth checking out – it’s available for Gold members from July 1st to 15th.