PlayStation Plus Monthly Games for May 2025: Ark Survival Ascended, Balatro, & Warhammer 40K Boltgun

Sony has revealed the PlayStation Plus Monthly Games for May 2025, bringing three very different experiences to the table: survival, strategy, and old-school shooting. Whether you're into taming dinosaurs, outsmarting card decks, or diving into retro-style gunfights, this month's selection is offering variety over familiarity.

The titles-Ark: Survival Ascended, Balatro, and Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun-will be available to PS Plus members starting May 6 through June 2.

Ark: Survival Ascended - PS5

This is not the first time players have encountered Ark, but Survival Ascended is a full rework using Unreal Engine 5, offering updated visuals, refined gameplay systems, and new quality-of-life improvements. It's still the same brutal survival experience: build shelters, craft weapons, and most importantly, tame and ride over 100 different species of dinosaurs and prehistoric beasts.

The game includes access to all major expansions like Scorched Earth, Aberration, Extinction, and both Genesis parts. Online multiplayer supports up to 70 players, with options for private sessions and even local split-screen co-op on PS5.

For long-time fans, this is a visual overhaul. For newcomers, it's an accessible entry point into one of the more complex survival sandboxes out there.

Balatro - PS5, PS4

If Ark is about surviving the wild, Balatro is about surviving the deck.

This roguelike deck builder has a unique twist: it draws its structure from poker, letting you craft "illegal" hands and then amplify them using Joker cards that create game-breaking combos. It's fast, strategic, and deceptively deep.

You'll use chip bonuses, modifiers, and a growing deck of jokers to push through a series of blinds, eventually facing off against a high-stakes "boss blind" round. The game is built around experimentation and discovery, with hidden decks, bonus hands, and unlockable synergies making each run different from the last.

For players who love cerebral strategy and quick resets, Balatro offers a rhythm that feels both casual and intense.

Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun - PS5, PS4

If you've ever wished Doom took place in the Warhammer 40K universe, this is essentially that.

Boltgun is a "boomer shooter" that blends 90s FPS aesthetics-think chunky pixels, blood splatters, and fast movement-with the over-the-top lore of Warhammer. You play as a Space Marine, blasting your way through demons and Chaos Space Marines in massive, linear levels.

Expect sprinting, strafing, and nonstop shooting as you wield signature weapons from the Warhammer arsenal in explosive, high-speed action. It's a callback to a simpler shooter era, dressed in the armor of one of sci-fi's most lore-rich settings.

Last Chance to Grab April's Games

If you haven't already, May 5 is your final day to download RoboCop: Rogue City, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth - Hacker's Memory. After that, they'll rotate out to make room for May's new titles.