Summary
- PS Plus Essential games for January 2025 will be delayed by about a week.
- PS Plus follows specific reveal and release patterns for different tiers.
- January 2025’s delay is due to PS Plus Essential’s schedule spanning two months.
For the most part, PS Plus subscribers can count on a steady reveal and release schedule for the free games they receive each month, regardless of whether they are paying for the Essential, Extra, or Premium tiers. However, there are some cases when these schedules are thrown off, potentially forcing subscribers to wait a bit longer than usual before the next month’s PS Plus games are announced and then released. Generally, this issue happens with PS Plus Essential more than PS Plus Extra and Premium, simply due to Essential games arriving at the beginning of the month. January 2025’s PS Plus lineup is the latest victim of these schedule mishaps, though for a perfectly understandable reason.
As it turns out, PS Plus Essential subscribers will need to wait about a week longer than usual to receive their free games for the month of January 2025. While unfortunate, this ultimately comes down to the reveal and release pattern for PS Plus Essential games and the day of the week that January 1, 2025 happens to fall on.
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PS Plus Games for January 2025 Will Be Later Than Usual
PS Plus Essential Games Have Long Followed a Specific Reveal and Release Pattern
While the dates for PS Plus announcements and releases obviously change every month, the service has still followed a specific pattern here and remains committed to following it, whether it’s convenient or not. Not only does this benefit subscribers by making it easier for them to predict the announcement and arrival of said games, but it also enables Sony to plan marketing campaigns more effectively and increases the company’s internal operational efficiency across various departments, like marketing, development, and customer support.
Specifically, when it comes to PS Plus Essential’s reveal and release schedule, upcoming additions are typically announced on the last Wednesday of each month and are made available the following Tuesday, after the next month begins. Unfortunately, due to PS Plus Essential’s announcement and release schedule taking place across two different months, more or less, it often creates unavoidable problems, like making the arrival of games to the service later than usual — as is the case with January 2025’s PS Plus Essential titles.
The reveal and release schedule for PS Plus Extra and Premium is different from the Essential tier, and they also benefit from being in the middle of the month, as opposed to the end of the month, like the Essential tier.
January 2025’s Midweek Start Throws Off the PS Plus Essential Release Schedule
The biggest issue with the announcement and arrival of January 2025’s PS Plus Essential games is that January 1, 2025 lands on a Wednesday. This means that if the PS Plus Essential games were announced on the previous Wednesday, December 25, 2024, then the following Tuesday, when the games would have normally been added to the service, would only have been December 31, 2024. This, for all intents and purposes, forces PS Plus Essential to move its announcement to January 1, 2025, the first Wednesday of the month, and then schedule the games for arrival on the service the following Tuesday.
Due to PS Plus Essential’s announcement and release schedule taking place across two different months, more or less, it often creates unavoidable problems, like making the arrival of games to the service later than usual — as is the case with January 2025’s PS Plus Essential titles.
In short, PS Plus subscribers to the Essential tier and above should expect the next batch of free games to be announced on January 1, 2025 and then added to the service on January 7, 2025. While it’s unfortunate that January 2025’s PS Plus games will be added to the service later than usual, it’s still a sign of PlayStation’s commitment to consistency, regardless of the annual calendar and what it might demand from the service’s schedules.
PS Plus subscribers receive a handful of free games every month.