Cloud gaming on PS5, in 2026
No service streams the PlayStation 5 catalogue as a whole. PlayStation Plus Premium offers a selection subject to publisher agreement, and PC services like GeForce Now only have access to games that exist on PC. For the rest, you need a console.
Updated on
Three families of services, three limits
| Family | Examples | What gets in the way |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription catalogue | PlayStation Plus Premium, Xbox Game Pass | The catalogue is chosen by the publisher, a game can leave it |
| Your PC games streamed | GeForce Now, Boosteroid | The game needs a PC version |
| Full rented PC | Shadow | A Windows PC, so no console games |
Swipe the table to see all the columns.
These three families share a blind spot: the games that only exist on PlayStation 5 and that Sony does not put in its streaming catalogue. That is exactly the case for the six first-party titles Sony has confirmed it will not port to PC, and for GTA 6.
A fourth route: the physical console, remotely
The principle is that of a video call, in reverse. A real PlayStation 5 runs in a data centre. Its picture is captured and sent to you, your controller inputs travel back the other way. The console does not know you are far away.
Since it is a real console with your PlayStation Network account, there is no catalogue: you play what you have bought. No publisher agreement is needed, since nobody is renting you a game.
What it comes to, in figures
| Point | Target value at Ploud |
|---|---|
| Picture | 1080p, 60 frames per second, HDR10 |
| Latency | 60 to 100 ms |
| Connection | 25 Mbit/s, 40 recommended |
| Transport | WebRTC, encrypted with DTLS-SRTP |
| Storage | 200 GB reserved, kept between sessions |
| Hosting | France |
Swipe the table to see all the columns.
These values are the service's design targets. They will be replaced by real measurements as soon as the first consoles go live.
The legal framework, in one sentence
The right to rent out a video game belongs to its publisher: no service can rent you a game without their consent. Renting a machine, on the other hand, is lawful. That is why Ploud rents console time and never a title, and why you bring your own account.
A physical console, by the hour, hosted in France.
Frequently asked questions
Can you play PS5 exclusives via cloud gaming?
Not through a subscription catalogue, except for the titles Sony places there itself. The route that works for any game on your account is a physical console played remotely.
Does PlayStation Plus Premium let you play every PS5 game?
No. It gives access to a selection of streamed titles, decided by Sony and the publishers. A game can join it and then leave, and major new releases are not in it.
Is cloud gaming playable in France?
Yes, fibre coverage more than allows it. The deciding factor is the consistency of the link, not its maximum bandwidth.
Do you have to buy the games?
Yes. Ploud rents console time, not games. You sign in to your PlayStation Network account and play the titles you own.
Read next
Cloud gaming services compared, 2026
Five services dominate cloud gaming in France, from €8.99 to €44.98 per month. None gives access to recent PlayStation 5 exclusives or to GTA 6, for a simple reason: they stream either PC games or a negotiated catalogue.
ReadLatency in cloud gaming
Latency in cloud gaming is the sum of six legs, only one of which cannot be reduced: distance. The rest can be tuned, and two free settings, the TV's Game mode and switching to Ethernet, often remove more time than everything else combined.
ReadRent a PS5 or buy one
A PlayStation 5 Slim has cost €649.99 since April 2026. Rented at €2.68 an hour, the same console works out cheaper as long as you play less than about 240 hours. Beyond that, buying regains the advantage.
Read
Have a console ready before the releases
People on the list book before everyone else. No payment now, a single email when we open.