{"id":152,"date":"2026-10-04T04:28:12","date_gmt":"2026-10-04T01:28:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pigamer.com\/guides\/primary-vs-secondary\/"},"modified":"2026-10-04T04:28:12","modified_gmt":"2026-10-04T01:28:12","slug":"primary-vs-secondary","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/pigamer.com\/en\/guides\/primary-vs-secondary\/","title":{"rendered":"Primary vs Secondary on PlayStation games"},"content":{"rendered":"

When you buy a digital PS5 or PS4 game, you'll see two options: Primary<\/strong> and Secondary<\/strong>. Both are exactly the same game \u2014 the difference is how you play and the price.<\/p>\n

Primary: from your own account<\/h2>\n

You sign in to the account you receive on your console and activate it as its primary console, then play the game from your own account<\/strong>. Your trophies and saves stay on your account, and you don't need to be signed in to the game account every time.<\/p>\n

Secondary: from the game account<\/h2>\n

You play while signed in to the game account itself<\/strong>, which is why it's cheaper. You need an internet connection when you launch it.<\/p>\n

Quick comparison<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/th>\nPrimary<\/th>\nSecondary<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
You play from<\/td>\nyour own account<\/td>\nthe game account<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Price<\/td>\nHigher<\/td>\nCheaper<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Need internet?<\/td>\nNot required when playing solo<\/td>\nYes, when launching the game<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Guarantee<\/td>\nUntil the last day<\/td>\nUntil the last day<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Which one should I pick?<\/h2>\n
    \n
  • Want peace of mind and to play from your own account? Primary<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
  • Want to save, and don't mind signing in with the game account? Secondary<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Still not sure? Ask PiGamer AI, tell it how you play, and it'll recommend the right one.<\/p>\n

    Important either way<\/h2>\n

    Don't change the account email, password or 2FA, so your guarantee stays active. And if anything goes wrong, we've got you.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Play from your own account or the game account? The full comparison so you choose right.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":150,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-152","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pigamer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/152","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pigamer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pigamer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pigamer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pigamer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=152"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pigamer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/152\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pigamer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/150"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pigamer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=152"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}