You can team up with your friends on PlayStation 4 this weekend, even if you don’t have a PlayStation Plus subscription.
Sony Computer Entertainment is opening up online multiplayer to all PS4 gamers this coming weekend, in an effort to get more players paying for its online service, PlayStation Plus. This free access runs from Friday, Sept. 26 at 12:01 a.m. Pacific through Sunday, Sept. 28 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific, reports the PlayStation Blog.
Online multiplayer was, and remains, free on PlayStation 3, but on PS4 it sits behind a paywall for subscribers of the PlayStation Plus service. Sony is keen for more PS4 owners to sign up to PlayStation Plus — which offers monthly, quarterly, and annual subscriptions — and this weekend, it’s offering everyone a taste of multiplayer gaming.
Multiplayer is a key part of many of this year’s big titles, such as first-person shooter Destiny and sports games FIFA 15 and Madden NFL 15. Destiny players without PlayStation Plus cannot access cooperative Raids or Strikes and cannot compete in the player-versus-player Crucible; this weekend, they can see what they’re missing.
Microsoft’s online service for console gaming, Xbox Live, has hosted such free multiplayer weekends for some time, but this is the first time for Sony’s PlayStation Plus.
Of course, PlayStation Plus subscribers also get free access to a variety of downloadable games each month, but these will remain available to paid subscribers only.