Today on the PlayStation blog Sony announced the three titles redeemable by PlayStation Plus subscribers. I’ll go over the games further down because I have a few thoughts on those, but the games themselves are Payday 3, High on Life, and Pac-Man World: Re-Pac. While these posts are typically just reserved for the games themselves, Sony dropped a little bit of a PS4 bombshell by announcing an end date of January 2026 for no longer adding PS4 titles to the monthly game list.
Why Sony Is Phasing Out PS4 Monthly Games
PlayStation 5 and even the Xbox Series X to some extent had issues on release. Covid-19 was in full swing and logistics issues were abound. That alone would’ve been a nightmare but there was also the global chip shortage of 2020. According to this BBC article, Sony was finally able to fix the PlayStation 5 shortage issues as late as the end of the year 2023. That really wasn’t that long ago. Since then, exclusive titles that may have sold the system were being simultaneously released to both the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, giving the PlayStation 4 an extra few years of life.
However, it looks like this might be one of the first signs that Sony is interested in pulling the plug on the PlayStation 4. According to the blog:
“As we shift to PS5, PS4 games will no longer be a key benefit and will only be occasionally offered for PlayStation Plus Monthly Games and Game Catalog starting January 2026. We may still provide titles that can be playable on both PS4 and PS5 consoles after this date.”
This is likely neutral news for PlayStation 5 owners who aren’t really affected but there are at least 117 million PlayStation 4 consoles out there and presumably, some people are still using them. Given that 2026 is still a year away and that the PlayStation 4 has been for sale since 2013, it’s probably time to sunset some features for the console. The PlayStation 4 will be 12-years-old when PlayStation Plus stops offering PS4 monthly games, and even then, the wording seems like it’ll still include games that offer compatibility for both systems.
I’m a little surprised though that they would break this news in a month with such lackluster games being offered. Usually you like to sandwich the bad news with two pieces of good news, but Sony had other plans. Payday 3 being the primary example, a game that has never achieved higher than a ‘Mixed’ rating on Steam. High on Life, a game with dubious humor from the studio founded by alleged abuser Justin Roiland, and the Pac-World remake, which has fair to middling reviews across the board. What the heck was Sony thinking?
Should You Upgrade to a PS5 Before 2026?
Though we got Suicide Squad last month, we were also given the Need for Speed Hot Pursuit remaster along with The Stanley Parable Ultra Deluxe. That’s two great games right there and something else to check out. If I were Sony, I would’ve broken that news last month. But what do I know? You’ve got a year to upgrade that PS4 or decide whether or not PS+ is even worth maintaining a subscription.
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