Ratchet & Clank, the original 2002 platformer by Insomniac Games will be coming to PS Plus Classics Catalog, for PS Plus Premium/Deluxe subscribers later this year. No exact month on when it will drop, but it’s coming this year.
This was revealed during the September 2026 State Of Play broadcast.
The original Ratchet & Clank had never been made playable on PS4 and PS5. While PlayStation’s other sixth-generation platforming duo Jak & Daxter had a PS4 version (which emulated the original PS2 release) made as part of the short-lived PS2-on-PS4 initiative, Ratchet & Clank missed out on that, as it was remastered for the PS3. When PlayStation rolled out cloud streaming, Ratchet & Clank became available on PS4, and later on PS5, via streaming the PS3 port. So for those in regions where PlayStation does not offer cloud streaming, which includes the entirety of Southeast Asia, this game is unobtainable on current PlayStation hardware, until now.
If the recent crop of PS Plus Classics Catalogue game is of any indication, this release of Ratchet & Clank is likely based off the PS2 version, emulated for PS4 and PS5. The Classics Catalogue currently features emulated PS1, PS2 and PSP games.
There is a Ratchet & Clank game titled Ratchet & Clank that’s playable on PS4 and PS5, but that’s the 2016 remake based on the movie based on the game. 2002 Ratchet & Clank has an edgier bite to its capitalism satire which the 2016 remake (and its tie-in movie, yes they unfortunately made a Ratchet & Clank movie) sanded off in favour of making the duo more appealing to younger audiences.
For those unfamiliar with the original 2002 Ratchet & Clank, it’s a rough version of the slick and sheen version we last seen in 2021’s Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. Ratchet couldn’t even strafe yet. But it should be a good blast from the past, as you get to see how this game still clung to platforming designs with a lot of fun jumping sequences. It won’t be long until the series slowly but surely evolved into a third-person shooter. That’s three years, as a matter of fact. Ratchet & Clank 3: Up Your Arsenal straight up adds what we consider now as modern camera controls for shooters.
Plus, the old tone of Ratchet & Clank, which wouldn’t be replicated today, will surely hit different for those who played these games as a kid when all those innuendos flew over our heads.
While Insomniac hasn’t entirely abandoned its platformer duo (Rift Apart even added a new duo), they are currently busy in making blockbuster Marvel games. Their next release is for Marvel’s Wolverine, launching this month.
Alongside Ratchet & Clank, Dino Crisis 2 and Mega Man X: Command Mission will join the PS Plus Classics Catalogue.