PlayStation Stars: How to Get Free PS4 and PS5 Games Through Sony Rewards

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PlayStation Stars: How to Get Free PS4 and PS5 Games Through Sony Rewards

PlayStation Stars, a rewards program that Sony tragically failed to commercialize by licensing the theme song to a certain animated film about an ogre’s swamp, launches today in the United States.

First announced in July, PlayStation Stars primarily grants players “digital collectibles,” leading some observers to raise their eyebrows at a series of prizes that sure sounded a lot like NFTs. (Sony swears they’re “not NFTs.”) But long-term participation in the program can also earn you points to redeem on PlayStation Store. Here’s everything you need to know.

“PlayStation Stars”? Like the fighting game?

No, you think of PlayStation All Stars Battle Royalea 2012 platformer trying to fit Sony’s roster of first-party heroes for a PlayStation exclusive smash bros Clone. By most reports, the game failed. Terrible.

Although PlayStation Stars revolves around a dopamine-powered progression system, it’s not a game at all. It’s a free addition to an existing PlayStation account. They are assigned a fixed number of tasks, which are officially named campaignswho cycle on a rotation basis. Completing campaigns earns you free content – such as “digital collectibles” (to reiterate, “no NFTs”). The more campaigns you complete, the more campaigns you can unlock and increase your total PlayStation Stars Status Level.

The program first rolled out across Asia on September 28, reached the Americas on October 5, and will expand to Europe, Australia and New Zealand on October 13.

How do you sign up for PlayStation Stars?

First, you need an account with PlayStation Network, Sony’s online service. (A free account is fine, although PlayStation Plus subscription members get additional perks from Sony.) In the PlayStation app, you’ll see a blue button with a star on it in the top navigation bar. Click on it and follow the steps.

A console-based version of the program is currently not available.

What are the rewards?

PlayStation Stars rewards primarily fall into one of two categories: digital collectibles – trophies that you can keep in a digital trophy box within the PlayStation App – or points that can be used towards additional collectibles or games from the PlayStation Store.

At tier two (buy a game from PlayStation Store to unlock it) you’ll get a bonus collectible. Once you reach level three (buy two games) you get one birthday collectible. At tier four (buy four games) you unlock “Chat Priority Routing – basically early access for customer support requests, though Sony said in an FAQ that wait times are “subject to availability.”

So the rewards are mostly digitized statues, which you can only see on a mobile app for now. You can view everyone you’ve unlocked in the Showcasewhich can be seen on the front page of the PlayStation app (it’s the blue bar that’s mocked with God of War Text).

So… NFTs?

“They are definitely not NFTs. Definitely not,” Grace Chen, Sony vice president of network advertising, loyalty and license merchandising, told The Washington Post. “You can’t trade them or sell them. It doesn’t use blockchain technologies and it definitely doesn’t use NFTs.”

What are the challenges?

Campaigns are pretty rudimentary. For example for the Check in October campaign currently active on my account, I have a rudimentary goal to achieve: “Play any game (PS4/PS5).” Once I’m done with that, I’ll unlock it PlayStation Tech demo Tyrannosaur Rex – a dinosaur standing in front of a tree, a reference to a tech demo for the original PlayStation.

Some campaigns fall into the “spend money to make (a small amount of starvation) money” category. For the PlayStation Store selection campaign, I have to buy one of six specific games — NBA 2K23, Saints Row, TMNT collection, The Last of Us Part I, Madden NFL 23or encryption, Polygons 2021 GOTY – full price on PlayStation Store. I get 50 points for that.

Sony said you won’t need to play streamed PS3 games for any campaigns – a benefit only available to people who sign up for the most expensive tier of PlayStation Plus.

How much are PlayStation Points worth?

If you branch over 200 points, you will get a collectible from a rotating board. You can also spend points on games, although the exchange rate isn’t an exact science. Right now you can exchange points for a handful of games via the PlayStation App:

  • cult of the Lamb (6,250 points)
  • It takes two (10,000 points)
  • Hades (6,250 points)
  • Sekiro: Shadows die twice (15,000 points)
  • The Quarry (17,500 points)

You can also redeem points for credit in the PlayStation Store: 1,250 points for $5 or 5,000 for $20. Points cannot be traded or transferred to another account.

Is it worth?

If it cost any money at all, definitely not. It’s not exactly tempting to splurge on a full price game for less than $1 in PlayStation Store funds, no matter how you do the math. And whatever you think of “no NFTs,” it seems silly to keep them locked in a mobile app where they can’t be viewed or traded. But hey, PlayStation Stars is free.

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