Featured Image Credit: Sony
Topics: Playstation Plus, Sony, PlayStation, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
Topics: Playstation Plus, Sony, PlayStation, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
PlayStation Plus has changed a lot over the years, and considering how essential it’s been for providing free games to its subscribers, this upcoming change might be the most dramatic one of all.
While you may have originally signed up for PlayStation Plus thanks to its exclusive discounts or online multiplayer access, it’s the free games that have ended up becoming a core part of the service’s identity.
PS Plus users should beware, however, because December 2025 will be the final month of free games for millions of gamers.
As announced earlier this year, PlayStation Plus Essential will no longer be offering PS4 games as part of its free monthly titles starting from January 2026.
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Although PS5 games are generally the larger focus when it comes to these monthly games, Sony has typically always thrown in a PS4 game or two.
For example, December 2025's offerings include five games, with The Outlast Trials and Neon White including both PS4 and PS5 options.
However, from January 2026, the monthly offerings will strictly be PS5 titles. Even if it’s a cross-gen game, only the PS5 version will be available to claim on there.
Considering that the PS5 is now five years old, it feels like this was a long time coming. Anyone who wanted a PS5 probably has one by now, so Sony is doing this in a move to bring over any more PS4 loyalists to the current-gen platform.
On the other hand, the PS4 sold 117 million units in its lifetime, compared to the PS5 which has currently sold just under 80 million.
Even assuming that every single PS5 unit was a case of someone upgrading from a PS4, that’s still almost 40 million PS4 users that don’t have a PS5, leaving them unable to claim free games for their console.
Some PS4 fans are unhappy with the decision. As posted on the PS4 Reddit page when the changes were announced, users believe it’s a form of artificial scarcity.
“There’s no reason to remove these games, they should be preserved not erased,” reads one comment.
“That’s about the only thing Xbox gets right, it’s backwards compatibility,” reads another.
“Well PS5 has been out for a while, they should be focused on the 5,” reads a third comment. “The fact that they have been offering stuff from the 4 this long is surprising.”
These changes come into effect from 6 January, 2026.