The announcement of the January PlayStation Plus games is near: will PS4 users be left empty-handed?

With December now coming to an end, there are only a few days left untilannouncement of new monthly games Of PlayStation Plus Essential arriving at Januaryavailable at no additional cost to all subscribers.

Barring any surprises, the announcement should arrive Wednesday 31 December at 5.30pm Italian time. While this isn’t an official date, the prediction is based on Sony’s usual modus operandi, which tends to reveal games on the Wednesday afternoon before the first Tuesday of the following month. It is not a fixed rule and, although rarely, there have been exceptions. In this case, considering that the date would fall in the late afternoon of the last day of the year, the company could also decide to bring forward the announcement a few hours or even a day compared to traditional times.

First month without PS4 games?

Likewise, it is easy to predict when the new PlayStation Plus Essential games can be redeemed by subscribers, given that this always happens on the first Tuesday of the month. Consequently, the date to mark on the calendar is that of January 6immediately after the morning update of the PlayStation Store, which usually occurs around 10:00 am Italian. At that point it will be sufficient to access the section dedicated to PlayStation Plus from the console or via the web version of the PS Store to redeem them and add them to your digital library.

At the moment there is no credible information or rumors about next month’s Plus line-up, so all that remains is to wait for official communications from Sony or any last-minute leaks. However, we recall that Sony has announced that starting from January 2026 it will reduce the number of PS4 titles included in the Essential, Extra and Premium tiers. The company has in fact communicated that “PS4 games will no longer be a key advantage and will be offered occasionally in monthly games and in the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog”. That “occasionally” could also refer to cases in which cross-gen titles will be offered, available for both PS4 and PS5.

Essentially, those who continue to play on PS4 will be able to do so with content already redeemed previously, but will no longer be able to count on a constant flow of new additions through monthly games and the PlayStation Plus catalogue, with Sony clearly shifting its focus permanently to its flagship console.