What if there was a way to play online multiplayer games with no PlayStation Plus or PlayStation Network required? No need to pay each year, just to have access to online servers and play your old favorite multiplayer games with friends. Well, that sounds too good to be true, but it is about to become a reality. PC users will soon be able to play their favorite PlayStation games online without the need for PSN or a Playstation Plus subscription.

Thanks to an active modding community and the rather excellent emulator shadPS4, PC players will soon have access to shadNET. The legality behind emulating consoles on PC and playing online against your friends is sketchy at best. But for those who dare to try, shadNET will soon offer the chance to play your favorite PS3 and PS4 games online with your friends. Of course, you should never emulate a game you don’t already own, but the chance to add new life to old games through fan servers sounds like a great idea.

Imagine playing Bloodborne at the long-sought-after 60fps with your friends by your side. Dying multiple times to the foes of Yharnam with company sounds a lot better than dying alone! Or perhaps reliving your glory days in Call of Duty: Black Ops as you try in vain to pull off the perfect 360 no scope against your mates. If the progress update continues and the fan support is there, then the sky’s the limit for how much joy you can get out of your old PlayStation games.

Currently, ShadNET is still in development and not ready for public consumption. However, progress is steady, and the website is currently open for registrations to set up your online account and also to gauge the public interest in the project. This is the same team that are behind the best PS4 emulator for PC, which is known as shadPS4. This emulator has received constant updates and support growing it into one of the best emulators out there to date.

Rockstar Games

While progress on Shad NET is still very much in the early stages, the team behind it are certainly capable enough to bring it to fruition. For now, the app is capable of tracking player scores and not much else, but that will soon change. In fact, even registration doesn’t yet allow you to input your player info, but the team are confident that every update will lead to significant progression. It won’t be long before PC players are experiencing their favorite PS4 titles online for themselves.

Seeing old titles getting revived through fan servers is a joyous prospect. For us, we would love to be able to play The Last of Us Part 1 online again. We loved that multiplayer grind and miss being able to play it. Hopefully, the community and support for shadNET grows and more fan favorite games get the love and attention they deserve. Finding a way to play GTA 4 online without PlayStation Plus and without downgrades and a bunch of mods for PC sounds fantastic.

Brand

Sony

Original Release Date

June 29, 2010

Original MSRP (USD)

$59.99 (Essential), $99.99 (Extra), $119.99 (Premium) – Per Year

App Store

PlayStation Store