PlayStation 5 Getting Huge Free 100-Hour Open-World Game, No PS Plus Needed

Jul 16, 2026 - 10:01

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PlayStation 5 Getting Huge Free 100-Hour Open-World Game, No PS Plus Needed

Published Jul 16, 2026, 12:30 AM EDT

Tom Wilson is a Gaming Features Writer at Screen Rant. Over the past five years, Tom has worked as the Editor-in-Chief at The Game Crater, as a Staff Writer for GamingIntel, a List Writer at TheGamer, and, of course, as a Senior Writer at ScreenRant. Tom has experience writing reviews, guides, news, and features, and has been responsible for teams of writers, training them and editing their work.

Tom graduated with a Masters in Multimedia Journalism, and has since gone on to build up his portfolio of games journalism work.

The majority of free games on PlayStation come courtesy of the PS Plus service, which isn't actually free. Sure, it's fun to say that any game played via PS Plus is technically a free game, and that wouldn't be wholly incorrect, but, for the most part, there's still some level of cost involved at the end of the day. Fortunately, there are still a handful of games that don't rely on the service to be accessible and aren't simply one of the many games included with it.

These totally free games are the perfect titles for those looking to build up a library of games or simply test out something new without breaking the bank. There are many excellent free PlayStation games currently available, but few of them offer quite as much content on quite as large a scale as the latest title coming to the platform. Fans of huge open-worlds and a plethora of missions, activities, and more to get stuck into will absolutely want to check out this totally free game when it launches on PlayStation soon.

Once Human has served as one of the best free-to-play games available for quite some time. It launched back in 2024 to positive reviews, offering a huge survival sandbox to play in with base building, dedicated PvP areas, a bevy of quests to complete, and a mystery to unravel. Its best selling point, beyond the gameplay innovations it brought to the genre, were its surreal visuals and massive and striking open-world, both of which coalesced to offer players an experience unlike any other.

Over the years, Once Human has been tweaked and updated with brand-new content, patches, and bug fixes, and now it is ready to make the move to consoles. Once Human's PS5 and Xbox Series X/S release is scheduled for later this year, and will launch completely for free, much like it did on PC back in 2024 and mobile in 2025. You won't need a PS Plus subscription (or Xbox Game Pass for that matter) to play it, as it is a free-to-play title and thus not reliant on a service to be played online.

Once Human does feature some premium packs and in-game purchases that cost real money, although these aren't necessary to play or even enjoy the game.

Once Human is set to launch on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on August 25, 2026. It will feature full cross-progression, so those who've already started playing it on PC or mobile can transfer their accounts, and vice versa. There will also be cross-play, meaning anyone thinking of introducing friends on a different platform can still play alongside them. The PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions will come with all previously released content and new updates, so newcomers don't have to worry about missing out.

Once Human currently has a Mostly Positive rating on Steam, with 79% of its 85,000+ reviews skewing positive. That's a strong rating that is more or less in line with its score of 71 on Metacritic. Once Human is a live service title and, as a result, comes with the expected baggage associated with those types of games. However, for those interested in a completely free and truly massive open-world experience that's playable with friends on PlayStation without the need for PS Plus, Once Human could be the perfect title.