Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. News

Sony preps free online multiplayer weekend for PS4 owners

By

free online multiplayer weekend on tap for ps4 psplusfree header
Sony announced that PlayStation Network members will be able to experience the online multiplayer modes in all PlayStation 4 games free of charge this coming weekend, beginning Friday, December 11th, and extending through Sunday, December 13th.

Online play in PS4 games is normally exclusive to players enrolled in the PlayStation Plus service, but this requirement will be waived for the duration of Sony’s weekend-long promotion.

Recommended Videos

Initially launched as a subscription service that doles out free digital games on a monthly basis, PlayStation Plus membership is now a requirement for players who wish to access online multiplayer functionality in PlayStation 4 games. Previous generations of PlayStation hardware offered free online multiplayer access across all games.

Related

Sony’s shift to a pay-for-play subscription model for online multiplayer puts it in competition with Microsoft’s Xbox Live service. Xbox 360 and Xbox One owners must subscribe to the Xbox Live Gold program in order to access online multiplayer modes in all games for Xbox platforms. Meanwhile Nintendo’s competing console, the Wii U, does not charge players a fee for online multiplayer.

Sony notes that the upcoming free weekend will allow players to test out the online multiplayer modes in EA’s recently released competitive shooter Star Wars Battlefront. Notable for its lack of single-player content, Star Wars Battlefront includes a broad selection of online multiplayer modes, requiring players to pay a subscription fee in order to access the bulk of its included features on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

Select PlayStation 4 hardware bundles available at retail throughout the holiday season include free copies of Star Wars Battlefront, making this weekend’s free trial an ideal time for new console owners to try out the game’s online-only features.

Other notable PlayStation 4 games that require a PlayStation Plus subscription in order to access online multiplayer features include EA’s sports sim FIFA 16, Activision’s first-person shooter Call of Duty: Black Ops III, and the Grand Theft Auto Online mode in Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto V.

Sony’s free online multiplayer weekend kicks off on December 11th at 12:01 a.m. Pacific, and ends on December 13th at 11:59 p.m. Pacific.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Danny Cowan
Danny Cowan
Contributor
Danny’s passion for video games was ignited upon his first encounter with Nintendo’s Duck Hunt, and years later, he still…
Humanity is the best PS5 (and PSVR2) game I’ve played so far
Humans jump over a gap in Humanity.

Over the past few years, I’ve found myself mourning the PlayStation brand I grew up with. When I was a kid, PlayStation was an eccentric platform home to the kind of oddball creative swings you now only ever see indie publishers take a chance on. In the PS5 era, though, Sony has doubled down on a cinematic action-adventure formula that feels less safe (though likely way more profitable) by comparison. It’s an understandable pivot, but it leaves me hungry for more diverse experiences on my PS5.

Thankfully, that desire has been satiated with Humanity, a game that’s already nabbing several impressive accolades from me. It’s the best reason to subscribe to PS Plus, the best game currently available on PlayStation VR2, and perhaps the best PS5 console-exclusive period (it’s also available on PC via Steam). The unique puzzler has all the markings of those left-field PlayStation classics I love … except for the fact it wasn’t developed or published by Sony at all.

Read more
The best PS5 exclusives
Kratos sternly looks at Atreus in God of War: Ragnarok.

The PlayStation 5 has been out for a while, bringing us next-generation visuals, faster load times, and a slew of new features that have blown our socks off. Of course, all of these features are welcome, but the real stars of the show are the PS5's games. What good is a new console if there are no games to play on it? Luckily, Sony's next-generation system has you covered with lots of exclusives, ranging from wacky family-friendly adventures to experiences of superhuman proportions and even challenging action RPGs.

Since the PS5 is still only a few years old, its list of exclusives isn't massive, but there are still several you absolutely need to check out. In this guide, we'll round up the very best exclusive games the system has to offer. The PS5's exclusive library will undoubtedly grow throughout its life cycle, and we will update this article accordingly as more games come out.

Read more
Dreams live support is ending — and that’s a big misstep for PlayStation
Art fights a giant bird in Dreams.

Sony could’ve had its own popular proprietary game engine and metaverse. Instead, it just let it slip through its fingers.

Media Molecule is ending live support for Dreams, its highly ambitious game-creating and playing tool for PS4, on September 1. Its servers are staying online for now -- and it has a few more content updates in the pipeline before then -- but after August, there will be no new tools, ports, or events for Dreams. That means it’s not coming to PS5, PlayStation VR2, and, most critically, PC.

Read more