We’ll be 5 years into the PS5’s life-cycle this coming November 2025, and at this point in every previous console generation, most players have migrated over to the current-gen. This time around though, the PS4 is still a huge chunk of PlayStation’s player base.
Last year we learned that PS4 players still represent half of all PlayStation players, and so long as a number of major third-party titles continue releasing PS4 versions of games, there aren’t any signs that divide will change.
PlayStation definitely wants it to change though, and it is trying to push things forward through PlayStation Plus. With the reveal of the PS Plus Essential games for February 2025, game services director Adam Michel also confirmed that after this year, players will stop seeing PS4 games offered through the PS Plus subscription service.
“As many of our players are currently playing on PS5 and have shifted toward redeeming and accessing PS5 titles from the Monthly Games and Game Catalog benefit, PlayStation Plus is also evolving with this trend and will focus on offering PS5 titles through the Monthly Games and Game Catalog benefit starting January 2026.”
Michel continued, “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.”
Michel also stipulates that this won’t impact any PS4 games you’ve already redeemed, since you’ll always have those games so long as you keep your PS Plus subscription active. In regards to the Game Catalog, any PS4 games there will remain available until such a time if/when they are removed from the catalog.
But basically, the message to PS4 players is that even if you continue to pay for PS Plus, at any tier, you’ll stop seeing PS4 games enter the library of games available through that subscription.
PS4 players on the lowest tier will be hurt the most, since the monthly benefit of three ‘free’ games will no longer be a benefit at all. Unless of course you have a PS4 but plan to buy a PS5, so you could keep redeeming games in order to have them ready for you when you upgrade.
So PS4 players, best to enjoy the last year where you can bet you’ll get at least one or two games from the PS Plus Essential monthly drop, and some games added to the PS Plus Extra Game Catalog.
Even though Michel leaves the door open for PS4 games to still be part of the service, once January 2026 hits, it likely won’t be long before we get the announcement that PS4 games will no longer be offered each month, at all.
By that point, it’ll be interesting to see how the numbers between PS5 and PS4 players have changed. Surely there will start to be a majority of PS5 players – but nearly five years and a mid-gen console refresh into the PS5 generation, so many have remained on their PS4.
It would continue to be an unprecedented situation, if there was still a large contingent of PS4 players 6, even 7 years into a new console generation.
Source – [PlayStation Blog]