Sony has officially unveiled May’s free PlayStation Plus games - and the lineup includes a critically-acclaimed title from last year.
As usual, fans took a stab at guessing the latest batch of games ahead of the announcement - and all of the predictions were wrong (The Last of Us 2 and It Takes Two in particular sounded more like wishful thinking).
All of the newly-added games will be available to download from Tuesday, May 6, for anyone with an active PS Plus subscription. Just a heads-up: April’s selection, including the excellent Robocop: Rogue City, will disappear the day before, on Monday, May 5.
What are the PS Plus free games for May?
So, what does Sony have in store for May? Well, it turns out the leaks were wrong: The remake of survival horror Until Dawn hasn’t made the cut and neither has NBA 2K25.
But, that isn't exactly bad news as the latest trio of games are arguably better. Players will soon be able to download Balatro, Ark: Survival Ascended and Warhammer 40,000 Boltgun.
Balatro is the highlight, a magical twist on poker that’s fiendishly addictive and has a celebrity fan in Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker. It was nominated for game of the year at several major awards ceremonies, including the BAFTAs and The Game Awards 2024.
PS Plus free games for May at a glance
- Balatro (2024), Metacritic score: 90
- Ark: Survival Ascended (2023), Metacritic score: N/A
- Warhammer 40,000 Boltgun (2023), Metacritic score: 75
In a nutshell, Balatro takes Poker and turns it into a rogue-like card battler. You play through escalating rounds, called Antes, by building high-scoring poker hands to beat computer-controlled Blinds.
The goal is deceptively simple: Win chips, earn in-game dollars, and spend them on powerful Jokers that stack wild effects for crazy combos. It’s poker, but with chaos, strategy, and no real gambling—just addictive, high-stakes fun.
Meanwhile, ARK: Survival Ascended is a full-blown remake of the 2015 dino-survival hit. Rebuilt in Unreal Engine 5, it brings slicker graphics, smarter AI, smoother building, and cross-platform multiplayer. You still tame dinosaurs and build bases, but now with dynamic water, interactive foliage, and mod support baked in.
Finally, Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun is pure retro-fied mayhem. You play a grizzled Space Marine blasting demons in a blood-soaked love letter to ‘90s shooters like Doom. The pixels are chunky, the combat gory, and the weapons explosive.
Sony will need to keep adding recent games to PS Plus if it wants to stop rival Microsoft from hoarding all the hype with its Xbox Game Pass service. This year alone, Xbox has released several acclaimed games on the platform at launch, including Indiana Jones, Oblivion Remastered and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
