PS Plus Essential Games for May 2025 Announced

Sony has today announced the three PS5, PS4 titles that PS Plus Essential subscribers can look forward to claiming for the month of May 2025. Available to redeem and download from Tuesday, 6th May, the games are:

• ARK: Survival Ascended (PS5)
• Balatro (PS5, PS4) | Review
• Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun (PS5, PS4) | Review

For as long as you maintain an active PS Plus Essential membership, the three games above will always be playable for you, even after they’re cycled out for June 2025’s selection. You can play them from next Tuesday, 6th May.

Sony is pitching ARK: Survival Ascended as the headline addition for the month, which is a native PS5 version of the game containing all Ark worlds, including “Scorched Earth, Aberration, Extinction, Ark Genesis Part 1, Ark Genesis Part 2, and more”.

After its breakout success last year, you’ve more than likely heard of May 2025’s second title for the service: Balatro. You might not have played it, though, and PS Plus Essential seeks to rectify that.

We awarded the game a 9/10 and said: “Between the main game, seeded runs, and a Challenge mode to really test your skills, there’s endless fun to be drawn from Balatro. With so many variables to experiment with, sleek presentation, and hypnotically addictive gameplay, this is easily among the best deckbuilders, and possibly among the best roguelikes, we’ve played yet.”

Boltgun, meanwhile, is an FPS in the style of classic DOOM. That got a 6/10 from us, with the conclusion: “If you can look past the repetition and the roadblocks, Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun is a largely solid shooter. It nails the visuals, the guns generally feel great, and the sound design is suitably punchy — just don’t expect it to push beyond those foundations.”

Are you happy with the PS Plus Essential lineup for May 2025? Share your reaction in the comments below.