Sony Interactive Entertainment introduced a digital platform known as the PlayStation Network (PSN) in November 2006 to make their products and services easily available to gamers using the PlayStation console. The PlayStation Plus, also known as PS Plus, is a premium PlayStation Network subscription service that helps you access a lot of premium content. If you are a PlayStation Network Member and have a PS Plus subscription, you might be wondering if you can share it with multiple accounts.
So, can multiple accounts use PlayStation Plus? You can use multiple accounts on a single PlayStation Plus subscription. However, you cannot use the PS Plus subscription on different consoles. The multiple accounts can only access the contents through the primary console. Sony has also limited some of the features you can access through a shared PS Plus subscription.
For example, you cannot redeem any monthly games through someone else’s PS Plus subscription. The benefits of using multiple accounts on a single PS Plus subscription include saving money, access to awesome online multiplayer games, and controlling the type of content young gamers can access.
The PlayStation Plus subscription has many features that make gaming on a PlayStation console even better. The monthly games, early access to upcoming games, and discounts on games are features a gamer with a PS Plus subscription gets to enjoy.
Game sharing a few years ago was easy. You could give your friend or relative a game disc and let them enjoy the game for some time. After the introduction of digital gaming platforms, how gamers share games has changed in many ways. If you are a gamer who loves to share gaming content with other users, you might be wondering if you can give multiple accounts access to your PS Plus subscription.
Multiple accounts can use a PlayStation Plus subscription because Sony allowed PlayStation Network users to share their subscriptions. However, multiple accounts can only access a PS Plus subscription on a single console.
If you want to give multiple accounts access to your PS Plus subscription, you have to activate console sharing and offline play on your console. Any account that logs in to your console will have access to games and other benefits included in a PS Plus subscription.
The PS Plus subscription costs 9.99 dollars each month or 59.99 US dollars for 12 months. If you live with several gamers in the same house using one PlayStation console, it does not make sense for everyone to get their own PS Plus subscription.
Sony allows multiple accounts to access games and other services using one PS Plus subscription. Each gamer can log in to the PS Network using their accounts but access games and other services through the PS Plus activated by one of the accounts logged in the console.
Unfortunately, multiple accounts cannot use a PlayStation Subscription using different PlayStation consoles. Benefits can only be shared from the primary account in the PlayStation console to other accounts on the same console. There can only be one primary console in a PlayStation console.
If you have more than two consoles, you have no option but to pay for two PS Plus subscriptions for each console. If you are not willing to pay for another PS Plus subscription, you can sign in to the second console with the account that has the PS Plus subscription and stays signed in for the duration of your gaming session.
If you want to give multiple accounts access to your PS Plus subscription, you first need to set up a primary account. On your PS4, sign in with the account that has the PS Plus subscription. Open Settings and head to the PSN menu and select “Activate as Your Primary PS4.”
Choose “Activate,” and now that your console has a primary account, any other user can sign in to your PS4 console and access games and other PS Plus benefits. Console sharing and offline play are automatically enabled on your console, but you can choose to disable the option if you do not want other users to play games on your console.
Can You Share PlayStation Plus?
Sharing games with friends or relatives is a good thing because those close to you get to enjoy some of the popular games you have on your console. If you have purchased a PS Plus subscription, you might be wondering if you can share it with your friends or relatives.
You can share your PS Plus with other gamers with PlayStation Network accounts. However, you can only share the PS Plus on your console; users playing games on different PlayStation consoles cannot use your subscription. Sharing the PS Plus has several advantages, such as reducing subscription costs and access to numerous new games. There are also PS Plus features you can share with other users and others that are not available to other users.
If you are a PS Plus subscriber, you have the option of sharing your subscription with other users. A PS Plus subscription gives you access to numerous online games, great deals on select games, add-ons, early access to demos, pre-orders, and many more services and products from the PlayStation Store.
If you want to share some of these benefits with other users, you can only do so by allowing them to sign in and play games on your console. You cannot share your PS Plus subscription with other users playing games on different PlayStation consoles.
The PS Plus subscription is not cheap, Sony offers you three payment options, and you can choose which one fits your budget. The three payment options are 59.99 US dollars for 12 months, 24.99 US dollars for three months, and 9.99 US dollars every month, and sharing your PlayStation Subscription with other users saves you and your friends a lot of money.
For example, if five people use your PS4, five PS Plus subscriptions cost 49.95 US dollars each month. Sharing your subscription will save you a lot of money, which you can use to buy games that you can play with other users.
However, you should note that there are some PS Plus features that other users can enjoy and some that they cannot. Other users can enjoy using your PS Plus subscription, including playing online multiplayer games, playing downloaded games purchased with PS Plus discount, and playing downloaded Monthly Plus games.
However, there are other PS Plus benefits that are not available to other users signed in to your console. They include buying PS Plus discounted products from the PlayStation Store, redeeming their preferred Monthly Games to their account, auto path download, online storage, and PS Plus early access to game demos.
Can You Share PlayStation Plus With Family?
The PlayStation console is among the most popular gifts that people give their family members. Since the console is very expensive, most family members opt to share one console. If you are using the same PlayStation console as some of your family members, you might be wondering if you can share your PS Plus subscription with them.
You can share your PS Plus subscription as long as you are using the same PlayStation console. You need one primary account with an active PS Plus subscription, and any family member can sign in to your console using their account. Any of your family members with a PlayStation account will be able to enjoy some of the PS Plus features, such as playing online multiplayer games.
Sharing your PS Plus with your family is beneficial because you can set parental controls for young gamers. You can select the games your children or relative who is a minor can play on your console using your PlayStation Subscription. Sharing PS Plus benefits with your family improves their gaming experience while reducing costs.
One of the benefits of sharing your PS Plus with your family is the opportunity to set up parental controls on your consoles. Not every game available on PS4 and PS5 is meant for gamers of every age. Some games are developed for adults or a mature audience only, such as Red Dead Redemption, Resident Evil 2, and Grand Theft Auto V, among many others.
When you set up parental controls, minors using your PS Plus subscription can only access games meant for children. The PlayStation console allows you to set restrictions for each family member individually; this way, some older kids can access some games that younger kids cannot.
Sharing your PS Plus with your family also helps in saving money. You do not have to pay for multiple PS Plus subscriptions if your family shares one PlayStation console. You can also use the discounts on your PS Plus subscription to buy games for specific family members.
Your family members can browse the PlayStation Store and identify the games they would like to play. You can then use the discounts or deals offered to buy the games using your account since they cannot buy them using your PS Plus subscription.
Setting up family sharing on your PS4 or PS5 is easy. First, you need to sign in with the account that has the active PS Plus subscription. Open your console’s settings and head to the PlayStation Network Menu. Select “Activate as Your Primary PS4 or PS5” depending on which console you own. Select “Activate,” and your PlayStation Network account will not be the primary on that console.
Console Sharing and Offline Play are always enabled after you sign in with your primary account. If console sharing and offline play are not enabled, go to “settings” and select “Users and Accounts.” Select “Other,” and you will see “Console Sharing and Offline Play” with “Don’t Disable and “Disable.” Select “Don’t Disable,” and now any family member with a PlayStation Network account can sign in to your console and play games using your PS Plus subscription.
Can I Use PS4 and PS5 With Same Account?
Sony released the PS5 console in November 2020 as a successor of the PS4, and many gamers moved quickly to buy it. Most gamers took good care of their PS4 consoles, and they can play games without any issues. If you have a PS4 console and plan to get a PS5, you might be wondering if you can use your PlayStation Network on both consoles.
You can use your PS4 and PS5 with the same account to access the same digital game library. The games in the PlayStation Network account are yours, and you can access them from any PlayStation console you own. The PS5 console also has backward compatibility, and you can still play many PS4 games on your PS5. You can also run the two consoles at the same time without any issues. You have to choose which console would be your primary console.
When you buy a new PS5 console and decide to give the PS4 console to young kids, you can still let them use it with your PlayStation Network Account. You can make the PS4 console the primary console and your PS5 the secondary console ensuring that you can change the parental control on your PS4 as you deem fit.
You do not need to worry about PlayStation kicking them out when you try to use both consoles simultaneously. As long as you have a working internet connection, you can verify your account on PS5 and continue using the consoles at the same time.
There are few good titles released for PS5; therefore, you can take advantage of the backward compatibility by using the same account on your PS4 and PS5 consoles. You can play all the games that you purchased and downloaded on your PS4.
If you create another PlayStation Network account for your PS5 console, you will not access any games you bought with your previous account. However, you should note that you cannot access both consoles simultaneously if you want to use games acquired using a PS Plus subscription.
Final Word
Gaming with your family and friends is a lot of fun because you get to enjoy some popular games together. However, several people using the same PlayStation Network account can be challenging because it will be hard to generate a perfect gaming library. If every person has their own PlayStation Network account, they can create their digital game library.
You can then share the PlayStation Plus subscription to access online multiplayer games and the monthly games that Sony makes available through the subscription. If you own a PS4 and PS5, there is no need to create a new PlayStation Network account, and you can access your game library on any console you own as long as you can verify your account.
