September is almost here and with it another slate of free PS Plus games for Sony fans. We’ve had some quality lineups across 2026, so hopefully that trend continues and September’s PS Plus Essential Games are keepers.
You have a week left to snag August’s PS Plus Essential games: Dying Light 2: Stay Human, Signalis (a PS4 title) and the hit indie game, Big Walk (with a 93 Metacritic score, making it one of the best-reviewed games of the year when it comes to PS Plus freebies). Despite this being a pretty good month, plenty of PS Plus subscribers were unhappy with the offerings, but that’s true of pretty much every month.
August has been a good month for PS Plus subscribers. On August 18, Vampire Survivors, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, and Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams came to PS Plus Extra. On August 25, PS Plus Extra subscribers get Hell is Us, Umamusume Pretty Derby: Party Dash, Two Point Museum, Metro Exodus, and, as luck would have it, Dying Light 2.
For the purposes of this post, we’ll be focusing on September’s three Essential games including leaks, rumors, reveal time, release date and more.
When Will Sony Reveal September’s PS Plus Games Lineup?
Play Puzzles & Games on Forbes
Sony typically reveals the upcoming PS Plus Essential lineup on the last Wednesday of the month and releases the new games on the first Tuesday of the coming month. That’s not always the case, but it’s a good rule of thumb.
This means that September’s PS Plus Essential games get announced August 26 and go live September 1, with Extra and Premium’s first wave revealed September 9 and dropping on September 15.
This means there’s only a six-day gap between the reveal and the drop, because September 1 is itself the first Tuesday of the month. It also means August’s Dying Light 2, Big Walk, and Signalis — all very much worth downloading if you’re a PS Plus subscriber — expire August 31. Don’t sleep on these games!
PS Plus September 2026 Leaks, Rumors And Predictions
No September PS Plus Leaks Yet
So far there have been no reliable leaks for September’s PS Plus lineup. If one arrives, it’ll almost certainly come from billbil-kun at Dealabs, who has been the most accurate PS Plus leaker going for years now and who typically posts the month’s headline title anywhere from one to seven days before Sony’s reveal. That gives us a narrow window: the official announcement is expected Wednesday, August 26, though Sony jumped a day early last month so it’s always possible the reveal could come sooner.
We can also look at what’s coming out to see if we can glean any clues, but here again we come up mostly dry. No video games appear to be releasing on September 1, but Trine 6 comes out on September 17 and I’ve had Trine 5 on my wishlist for sometime now. That’s something!
If we look back at previous years, past September releases are also very little help.
Previous September PS Plus Essential Lineups
Looking back at the PS Plus September lineup over the last seven years, it’s hard to really come up with any coherent theme. Here’s what we’ve gotten since 2019:
2019 — Batman: Arkham Knight, Darksiders III
2020 — PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, Street Fighter V
2021 — Overcooked! All You Can Eat, Predator: Hunting Grounds, Hitman 2
2022 — Granblue Fantasy: Versus, Need For Speed Heat, Toem
2023 — Saints Row (2022), Black Desert Traveler Edition, Generation Zero
2024 — Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions, MLB The Show 24, Little Nightmares II
2025 — Psychonauts 2, Stardew Valley, Viewfinder
Basically, there’s no telling what September will bring. Sometimes we get horror games (a little early for Halloween) and the occasional sports title. Some indie stuff. A couple of racing games. It’s really an anything goes!
A raft of PS Plus Extra games (and a couple Premium) titles will leave the service in mid-September, including: Persona 5 Tactica, Shadowrun Returns, Shadowrun Hong Kong: Extended Edition, Shadowrun Dragonfall: Director’s Cut, Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII, Toukiden 2, Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back, EA Sports Madden NFL 26, and — on Premium — Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue and Toy Story 3.
It’s unlikely that any of these will come to Essential the same month they leave Extra or Premium, but we could get something to fill the void — a JRPG perhaps.
My 3 Predictions For September PS Plus
Spider-Man 2 — The headliner for September riding on the coattails of the massive success of Spider-Man: Brand New Day. It’s a popular game and there’s no better time than striking while the iron is hot. Besides, the new Wolverine game comes out in September, so this would be a pleasant pairing.
Trine 5 — The indie title of the list. The little guy, but a great fun co-op fantasy game you can play with friends. Might be too soon to the next game’s release, however. But I want an indie title in my predictions trio and this is what I’m going with!
Stellar Blade — Shift Up is working on the sequel, Blood Rain, and there’s no better way to drive a little hype than with a free PS Plus release of the original action game. Of course, the sequel is still a long ways out, but Stellar Blade has been out long enough to make sense on PS Plus regardless.
Now, onto the wishlist!
PS Plus September 2026 PS Plus Wishlist
Some of these are more likely candidates than others and some of these are quite obviously just wishful thinking. Most of these remain from past prediction lists, since they haven’t been picked yet!
Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered — This is a modern classic open-world adventure game about fighting giant robotic dinosaurs in a post-apocalyptic future. It seems like the perfect candidate for a PS Plus title, since the remaster came out two years ago.
Atomfall — The first-person survival-action game set in an alternate-history 1960s Britain after a nuclear disaster is a top pick for a lot PS Plus hopefuls. It only released in early 2025, however, so it’s pretty new for a PS Plus inclusion. Then again, we’ve seen quicker turnarounds (Dragon Age: The Veilguard for instance).
Fallout 4: Anniversary Edition — Two reasons for this. One, there’s an Anniversary Edition out and the second season of Amazon’s excellent Fallout series has renewed interest in the series.
Dispatch — An absolutely wonderful interactive movie style superhero game that blends gorgeous animation and incredible writing and acting with a fun superhero management sim.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance — The excellent Medieval RPG is many years old now, and the sequel just came out. Why not release the original on PS Plus? Well…I guess because it was a PS4-era game. But they could release the sequel!
Blue Prince — One of my favorite games of 2025, this would make a great indie title to go with some bigger releases. What an absolute gem.
Resident Evil 4 Remake — The remake of the popular action-horror game from 2005 was released in 2023 to wide acclaim. It’s old enough to be a contender for a PS Plus release and would definitely be a crowd-pleaser.
Elden Ring — FromSoftware’s mega-hit action-RPG would be a huge win for Sony and PlayStation Plus gamers. Even Demon’s Souls Remake would be a massive win, though I put both of these in the “wishful thinking” column. Still, Elden Ring might make sense given the recent release of the standalone multiplayer spinoff Nightreign.
Star Wars Outlaws — Ubisoft’s open-world Star Wars game wasn’t the hit they needed, but it’s still a pretty fun way to head to a galaxy far, far away and rub shoulders with scum and villainy. It would make a really perfect PS Plus release.
Death Stranding — Hideo Kojima’s weirdest game was a big enough hit to commission a sequel and that sequel just came out in 2025. Makes sense to get the original onto PS Plus at some point, if only to drive more people to the newer (and more expensive) sequel.
Street Fighter 6 — The popular fighting game franchise continues to be a crowd-pleaser, and releasing this 2023 game on PS Plus would be fun despite getting a fighting game last month. That makes me doubtful we’ll see this one, but I’d play it if Sony put it out there.
Squirrel with a Gun — As the title indicates, this is a little game where you play as a squirrel with a gun. It’s the kind of indie title that often accompanies bigger, AAA releases in a PS Plus lineup.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage — Releasing a free Assassin’s Creed game makes sense with the Black Flag remake on the horizon. Get people excited about the re-release. It’s already been added to Extra and Premium, of course.
(Prediction Now!) Trine 5 — I used to absolutely love the Trine games. I remember playing them with my kids when they were little. The gorgeous artwork in those games plus the couch co-op just made them such a delight. Then I forgot about them, and I actually never did play the fifth game. I’d love to, though. It would be super nostalgic for the whole family. Here’s hoping!
All The PS Plus Essential Games Released In 2026
Here’s what we’ve nabbed so far.
January 2026
- Need for Speed Unbound
- Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed
- Core Keeper
February 2026
- Undisputed
- Subnautica: Below Zero
- Ultros
- Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown
March 2026
- PGA Tour 2K25
- Monster Hunter Rise
- Slime Rancher 2
- The Elder Scrolls Online: Gold Road Collection
April 2026
- Lords of the Fallen
- Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered
- Sword Art Online: Fractured Daydream
May 2026
- EA Sports FC 26
- Nine Sols
- Wuchang: Fallen Feathers
June 2026
- Grounded: Fully Yoked Edition
- Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2
- Warhammer 40,000: Darktide
July 2026
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III
- For the King II
- CrossCode
August 2026
- Dying Light 2 Stay Human: Reloaded Edition (PS4, PS5)
- Big Walk (PS5, day one)
- Signalis (PS4)
PS Plus Current Pricing
US PlayStation Plus pricing as of now:
- Essential — $10.99/month, $27.99/quarter, $79.99/year
- Extra — $16.99/month, $43.99/quarter, $134.99/year
- Premium — $19.99/month, $54.99/quarter, $159.99/year
PS Plus pricing went up earlier this year. Sony announced the increase on May 18, 2026, effective for new customers from May 20 — Essential, Extra and Premium climbed to $10.99, $16.99 and $19.99 monthly, with the three-month options rising to $27.99, $43.99 and $54.99.
Interestingly, annual plans were not raised, holding at $79.99, $134.99 and $159.99, and remain at their pre-hike rates as of August 2026. This is a departure from the September 2023 price hike, which jacked up both annual and monthly prices at the same time.
What games would you like to see come to PS Plus this September? Any insights or predictions? Any leaks I should know about? Let me know on Twitter or Facebook. Also be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel and follow me here on this blog. You can also sign up for my Substack newsletter, Diabolical, where I talk culture and politics and the arts.
