Yes—but “keep” has two meanings. A PS Plus Monthly Game that you properly add during its offer window can remain associated with your PlayStation account and Game Library. That does not turn it into a normal purchase, however. Playable access remains tied to an eligible active PlayStation Plus membership.

That distinction explains most of the confusion around Monthly Games. You do not need to keep a claimed game installed forever, but you do need to claim it while it is offered and have an active Plus membership when you want to play it.

 

Can you keep PS Plus Monthly Games?

If you claim a Monthly Game while it is part of the PlayStation Plus offer, Sony says you can add it to your Game Library and download and play it later while your membership is active.

So, in practical terms, the claimed title can stay associated with your account after that month’s offer changes. What you do not receive is normal permanent purchase ownership. The game remains a PlayStation Plus subscription entitlement.

The main requirements are straightforward: claim the game during its offer period, use the PlayStation account that received the entitlement, and maintain an eligible PlayStation Plus membership when you want to play it.

Monthly Games are included with the current Essential, Extra and Premium plans, so you do not need Extra or Premium specifically for this benefit. For the wider tier structure, see our PlayStation Plus explained guide.

 

How claiming PS Plus Monthly Games works

The Monthly Games claim window

Sony refreshes the Monthly Games selection on a recurring monthly schedule. To establish the subscription entitlement, you need to add the game while it is still part of that Monthly Games offer.

If you miss the availability period, current PlayStation documentation does not provide a way to retroactively claim that old Monthly Game entitlement after the offer has ended.

The important action is therefore adding the game during the offer window—not finishing it, and not necessarily keeping it installed.

Add to Library vs Download

Sony’s interface wording differs slightly between PS5 and PS4. Its current PS4 support instructions explicitly use Add to Library before Download, while the PS5 flow presents the Monthly Game with a Download action.

Sony’s broader PlayStation Plus games page makes the entitlement model clearer: Monthly Games can be added to Game Library and then downloaded and played later while you have an active membership.

So you do not need to keep a Monthly Game continuously installed to preserve a properly established Plus entitlement. Adding the game to your library and storing its files locally are separate concepts.

Generic game cards moving into a personal library during a temporary monthly availability window.
A conceptual view of Monthly Games being added to a personal library during their availability period.

 

Do you own claimed PS Plus Monthly Games?

Not in the same way as a game you buy from PlayStation Store.

A claimed Monthly Game is tied to your PlayStation Plus subscription. It can appear in Game Library, but library presence does not turn the subscription licence into a normal purchase entitlement.

This difference matters when the subscription ends. Sony says purchases made with a PlayStation Plus discount remain yours, while Monthly Games received at no extra cost through the membership become unavailable once the subscription actually expires.

The safest language is therefore claimed, added to Game Library or subscription entitlement rather than “owned forever.”

 

What happens if PlayStation Plus expires?

Cancelling PlayStation Plus and actually reaching the end of your paid subscription period are not the same event.

If you cancel today, Sony says you continue to receive your Plus benefits until the end of the subscription period you have already paid for. Claimed Monthly Games therefore remain playable during that remaining active time.

Once the membership itself expires, Sony says access to PlayStation Plus benefits—including Monthly Games—ends.

That does not mean Sony says every library record is deleted. Its PlayStation ecosystem guidance notes that games previously played through Plus can remain visible in Game Library, while an active membership is required before those Plus games can be played again.

 

Do your Monthly Games return if you resubscribe?

Sony’s official European PlayStation Plus membership guidance states that if a membership expires and you later return, you regain access to content previously downloaded through PlayStation Plus. The same guidance specifically says Monthly Games downloaded or added before leaving the monthly offer become accessible again after purchasing a new membership.

This should be understood as the normal documented case for the same PlayStation account that originally received the entitlement.

Sony’s current US cancellation page is less detailed about every restoration scenario, so it is better not to turn this into an unconditional promise covering every historical title, delisted game or unusual licensing case.

For a normal claimed Monthly Game tied to the same account, however, current official PlayStation guidance supports regaining access after resubscribing.

 

What happens when you change PS Plus tiers?

Essential to Extra or Premium

Monthly Games are an Essential-level benefit, and Extra and Premium include the Essential benefits. Upgrading therefore does not remove access to properly claimed Monthly Games.

Extra or Premium to Essential

Sony says a downgrade takes effect on the next payment date and removes benefits that were exclusive to the higher plan. Monthly Games are not exclusive to Extra or Premium because Essential includes them too.

Moving down to Essential should therefore not remove the Monthly Games benefit as long as the subscription remains active.

Moving between active Plus tiers

The same logic applies when moving among current active Essential, Extra and Premium plans: Monthly Games remain part of the subscription benefit set.

This conclusion follows from Sony’s current tier matrix and subscription-change rules rather than from a dedicated Sony FAQ covering every historic claimed title.

 

Can you delete and reinstall claimed Monthly Games?

Normally, yes.

Deleting the local game files frees storage space; it is not the same thing as surrendering the subscription entitlement attached to your account. Sony says games added to Game Library can be downloaded and played later while your membership remains active.

A properly claimed Monthly Game can therefore normally be downloaded again from your library while the entitlement is valid.

There can be unusual cases involving delisting or licensing changes, and Sony does not publish a universal promise covering every exceptional historical title. The normal rule is still that deleting the installation itself does not erase a valid claimed entitlement.

A claimed game remains in a personal library while an abstract subscription connection changes between active and inactive states.
The library record can remain while playable access depends on an active PlayStation Plus membership.

 

Monthly Games vs Game Catalog

Monthly Games and the PS Plus Game Catalog both provide subscription access, but they use different entitlement models.

Monthly GamesGame Catalog
Offered during a monthly claim windowRotating on-demand library
Essential and higherExtra and higher
Must be added while offeredAccess while the title remains in the catalog
Claimed access is tied to active PlusAccess requires a qualifying tier and continued catalog availability
The monthly offer ending does not by itself remove a properly claimed entitlementA catalog title can leave the service

A Monthly Game that you properly claimed does not stop being your claimed Monthly Game simply because a new month begins. By contrast, Game Catalog access depends on the title remaining part of the rotating catalog.

The separate Game Catalog guide covers downloads, rotations and catalog availability in detail.

 

Common scenarios

You cancel today but still have subscription time left

You can keep using Monthly Games until the paid membership period actually expires. Cancellation stops the next renewal; it does not instantly terminate the current paid period.

Your membership actually expires

Playable access to claimed Monthly Games stops when the membership ends.

You resubscribe later

Current official PlayStation guidance supports regaining access to previously downloaded Monthly Games when you subscribe again, in the normal case on the same account. Exceptional delisting or unusual licensing situations should not be assumed to follow a universal rule.

You upgrade your Plus tier

Monthly Games remain included because Extra and Premium inherit the Essential benefits.

You downgrade to Essential

Monthly Games remain an Essential benefit. Higher-tier features can disappear when the downgrade takes effect, but Monthly Games are not a higher-tier-only feature.

You delete an installed Monthly Game

A properly claimed game can normally be downloaded again while your subscription entitlement remains valid.

 

What Monthly Games do not mean

Claiming a Monthly Game does not mean you made a normal PlayStation Store purchase.

It also does not mean:

  • you can claim the game retroactively after missing its Monthly Games offer window;
  • your access continues normally after your Plus membership expires;
  • Monthly Games follow the same rules as the rotating Game Catalog;
  • another household account automatically receives its own claim entitlement simply because the subscriber can share some downloaded Plus benefits on a console.

Sony allows certain PlayStation Plus benefits, including downloaded Monthly Games, to be shared on an eligible PS5 or primary PS4. But Sony separately states that another account cannot redeem PlayStation Plus games for itself through that sharing arrangement.

A small claimed game collection sits beside a larger rotating subscription catalog of generic game tiles.
Monthly Games use a claim-window model, while Game Catalog access depends on titles remaining in a rotating service library.

 

Frequently asked questions

Do you keep PS Plus Monthly Games forever?

A properly claimed Monthly Game can remain associated with your account, but playable access is tied to an eligible active PlayStation Plus membership. It is not the same as buying the game permanently.

What happens to claimed games if PS Plus expires?

They become unavailable to play through the Plus entitlement once the membership ends. Sony’s guidance indicates that the game can remain associated with your library rather than becoming a normal purchase.

Can you play claimed games after cancelling PS Plus?

Yes, until the subscription period you already paid for expires. After that point, Monthly Game access ends unless you subscribe again.

Do PS Plus games return if you resubscribe?

Sony’s official guidance supports regaining access to previously downloaded Monthly Games after resubscribing on the same account in the normal case. It does not provide an unconditional guarantee for every exceptional or delisted title.

Do you have to download a Monthly Game during its offer period?

You need to add or claim the title during its availability period. Sony’s current guidance supports downloading and playing it later while your membership remains active.

Can you reinstall claimed PS Plus games?

Normally, yes. Deleting local files does not itself surrender a valid entitlement, and claimed library games can normally be downloaded again while your membership remains active.

Does upgrading to Extra affect claimed Monthly Games?

No. Extra includes the Essential benefits, including Monthly Games.

Does downgrading to Essential affect claimed Monthly Games?

Monthly Games remain included with Essential, so moving from Extra or Premium to Essential does not remove that benefit merely because of the tier change.

Are Monthly Games the same as the Game Catalog?

No. Monthly Games use a claim-window model. The Game Catalog is a rotating library available from Extra upward, and titles must remain in that catalog for continued catalog access.

Do you own PS Plus Monthly Games?

Not as normal purchases. They are subscription-linked entitlements that remain playable while the relevant PlayStation Plus membership is active.

 

Sources used in this article