If you’re looking for how to play PS4 and PS5 games on a PC without PlayStation, there’re three ways. You can use an emulator, use PlayStation Now, or play PS games available on PC.
Emulation sounds sketchy, and it is. It’s neither legal nor official, so we can’t share a full guide on the matter. Also, emulation software for PS4 doesn’t work for all games, and there’s no emulation for PS5 yet.
The second option, PlayStation Now, is perhaps the best alternative. You require a subscription, but you’d be able to play games on PC without owning a PlayStation console.
The third option is browsing through the available PS4 or PS5 games available for PC. Sony is increasingly open to sharing its IPs with the Windows platform, so you may find more than you believe.
How to Use PlayStation Now?
PlayStation Now is currently part of the PlayStation Plus membership, but it was a standalone service not long ago. You can find its benefits within one of the PlayStation Plus plans, in particular, PlayStation Plus Premium.
PlayStation Plus Premium allows you to play PS4 and PS5 games on Windows 7, 8.1, 10, or 11 PCs. You don’t require Remote Play, and you don’t even need to own a PlayStation console.
Instead, you need these things:
- Get a PlayStation controller, like the DualShock 4 or the DualSense
- Open a PlayStation account on the Sony PlayStation site. Alternatively, sign-up on the site
- Buy a PlayStation Plus Premium membership
Afterward, here’re the instructions:
- Download the PlayStation Now app for your PC. It’s hard to find currently, and you won’t be able to see it if the service is not officially available in your country. However, you can always go to this link to download the default USA version.
- Install the app
- Open the app and sign in with your credentials
- Connect a DualShock 4 or a DualSense controller to your PC via USB cable. PlayStation controllers should work on PC without issue
- Select a game to play
The service will stream the games over to your PC, so you won’t need to download anything. You’d need a good internet connection speed and a 5MB broadband.
That’s all there is to the process. However, not every PS4 or PS5 exclusive is available via PS Now. The service has its game catalog.
PlayStation Now PC Requirements
According to PlayStation, the requirements to play PlayStation games on your PC are:
- A PlayStation Network account
- A registered payment method
- A PlayStation Plus Premium membership
- A DualShock 4, a DualSense, or another PlayStation-compatible controller, with its USB cable
- A 5 Mbps or higher broadband connection. PlayStation also recommends using the Ethernet cable rather than the Wi-Fi. Additional ways to make the stream download faster include adding a Static IP or a public DNS.
- 18 years-old or older users
What Is PlayStation Plus?
PlayStation Plus offers a suite of benefits to its members for a monthly price. It has three tiers, so the lowest price is $9.99 per month, and the highest is $17.99 per month.
The first tier, Essential, offers access to online multiplayer, discounts, and monthly free games to download. Additionally, it offers a collection of games to download and play, Cloud Storage, and the Share Play service.
The second tier, Extra, adds the Game Catalog. That means the service adds a selection of monthly classic, indie, and mainstream games to download and play.
The final tier, Premium, includes Game Trials and cloud streaming. The service allows you to stream PS4 and PS5 games to the console or a PC. In other words, every game available in the service will be available for download.
You can check the full catalog of PlayStation Plus games on the service’s official page.
Can I Use an Emulator to Play PS4 or PS5 Games on PC?
There’re a few PS4 emulators with fair support from its developers, while others are fake or abandonware.
Don’t get too hopeful, though. Most emulators can’t run AAA-exclusive PlayStation IPs. Mostly, the software can run classic games only, as they are not as advanced as Nintendo emulators.
Your best options are Orbital PS4 Emulator or GPCS4. Most of the other options you’d find won’t work, and they may harm your PC.
Also, downloading ROM games for PlayStation or any other console is not exactly legal.
Are There PlayStation Games Available for PC?
There’re various benefits of owning a console. Namely, they offer years of AAA playing for a fraction of the money a mid or high-tier PC would cost.
Secondly, it’s a device built for gaming and nothing else. That optimizes its performance, interface, and controllers.
Thirdly, it gives you access to exclusive titles. The third point is perhaps less important on Xbox, as every Xbox game also debuts for PC.
The same phenomenon is happening on PlayStation. Albeit Sony still protects some of their IPs, they have released several exclusives for Windows via Steam or Epic Games.
That said, here’s the full list of PlayStation games exclusive for PC (but not for Xbox or Nintendo):
- Beyond: Two Souls
- Days Gone
- Death Stranding
- Detroit: Become Human
- Disgaea
- Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture
- Final Fantasy 7 Remake (Integrade version)
- Final Fantasy 16
- Flower
- Forspoken
- Guns Up!
- God of War (2018)
- Heavy Rain
- Helldivers
- Horizon Zero Dawn
- Journey
- Nioh
- Nioh 2
- Persona 4: Golden
- Predator: Hunting Grounds
- Street Fighter V
- The Unfinished Swan
- Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection
Additionally, Sony confirmed these two games are debuting on PC soon:
- Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered
- Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
We need to mention Bloodborne, as it’s one of the best games of the PS4 generation. Many rumors say the title will reach PC “soon,” but there’s no official confirmation. For now, you can play it with PlayStation Plus Premium on PC.
