Subscribers ofPS Pluswill be treated toUncharted 4andDirt Rally 2for the month of April, confirming the PS Plus leak that happened at the end of March. Looking at both titles, one can notice that these monthly games seem to follow a pattern; Sony keeps giving out old first-party games alongside games that aren’t frequently requested. This is true of April, March, and January of this year but the pattern has been a thing for much longer than that. However, there are a few things that Sony could do to change things up for the better.
A few months after the launch of the PS4, Sony started to give out about six to eight games a month on PS Plus which were meant to accommodate Sony’s player bases on PS3, PS4, and PS Vita. Although most of the games that were released month to month weren’t exactly blockbusters, there was always at least one game for everybody. When the company decided to limit its monthly offerings to two PS4 games a month starting in March 2019, it seemed to be more obvious that Sony tended to rely on its first-party games in order to bolster its PS Plus library.
Sony's Pattern with PS Plus' Free Games
The reason why Sony tends to give away its first-party titles to PS Plus subscribers is likely because it costs the company significantly less. It doesn’t have to pay for games under its own umbrella, which is why it’ll fill in voids in certain months with its own games. However, the problem isn’t that Sony bolsters its line-up of free PS Plus games with its own games; it’s the fact that it tends to choose games that are so old, people could find them in the bargain bin at their local game store.
This isn’t to say that Sony has never come through on delivering a solid line-up every now and then. February's PS Plus games prove that Sony is clearly still aware of what excites fans, with the inclusion ofThe Bioshock Collection, The Sims 4,andFirewall Zero Hour.The first two games may both be fairly old themselves, but they’re also immensely popular games that are still being played, neither of them are first-party, andThe Bioshock Collectionhas three games in it. WhileFirewall Zero Houris in fact first-party, it’s also a VR title and a bonus third game for the month.
What Sony Could Do for PS Plus Games
Even though Sony seems to be sticking with the plan to release one big game and one smaller game for PS Plus every month, there are still some things it can do to make the service better. The fact that it added a PSVR title as a bonus third game for February is significant. Sony should keep adding PSVR games to PS Plus in order to further bolster its monthly line-up (and to allow users to build up a library if they haven’t gotten a PSVR yet). It could alternatively focus on the quality of the games that it adds to the service.
The Bioshock Collectionwas such a welcome addition because it features three whole games that were all critically acclaimed. Sony should try and keep adding collections or maybe some episodic titles likeThe Walking Dead; there are plenty of games like these that are on many people’s PS Plus wish lists. If Sony really wanted to shake things up, it could also do something as controversial as limiting PS Plus’ free games to just one per month. This would clearly be met with some backlash but would also allow Sony to concentrate its resources on acquiring one huge game for the service each month.
With the PS5 set to launch later this year, Sony probably has some plans in store for the future of PS Plus. It likely won’t be adding PS5 games to PS Plus until the console is a few months old, but that doesn’t mean the service won’t change at all. Seeing as how PS Plus and PS Now share many of the same features already, Sony could consolidate its services for PS5 in order to create a more robust and valuable service. Until then, subscribers will have to settle for whatever Sony can give them month to month.
April's PS Plus games will be available to download from April 7 to May 4, 2020.
