PlayStation have announced the three games coming to PlayStation Plus Essentials in February, as well as bigger changes coming in 2026.

Before the games, lets start with the changes to the program, basically in 2026, PlayStation 4 games will no longer be included within PlayStation Plus. Ok, so they will occasionally be included, but that is not guaranteed. This is the full statement about the changes:

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. 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.

Now for those who have a large library of PlayStation 4 games, they will be untouched and playable for as long as you have an active subscription, so that is the silver lining. The rest however is just utter bullshit. For PlayStation to claim that many users have moved over to PlayStation 5 is just an insult, there are over 100m PlayStation 4 consoles in the world and around half of that in PlayStation 5 consoles. So the ownership is skewed in favour of the last-gen box, so to claim more people have moved over is just not true.

PlayStation could of course be counting new PlayStation 5 consoles who access PlayStation Plus, versus new PlayStation 4 consoles doing the same, which of course yes, that would skew the data in favour of the new box. But when people upgrade to a new console they tend to do one of two things with their old one, give it to someone in the family or sell it privately. PlayStation don’t know what happens to a console after its been bought from a retailer, so all those new PlayStation 5 owners, likely still have their accounts on PlayStation 4 consoles, just with a younger member of the family being the main user. I am not opposed to PlayStation making changes to their program, but having upped the prices around 16 months ago by ~30%, to now say you are cutting content, is just plain insulting to the people who you just screwed over. If you want to voice your frustrations at the decision directly to PlayStation, you can do it on their PlayStation Blog, just be nice about it.

For now though, let’s look at the games coming in February.

Payday 3

PlayStation 5

Revel in the thrill of a perfectly planned and executed heist in this high-octane, co-op FPS experience for up to four players online. Step out of retirement back into the life of crime in the shoes of the Payday Gang, the envy of their peers and the nightmare of law-enforcement wherever they go. Several years after the crew’s reign of terror over Washington DC has ended, they assemble once again to deal with the threat that roused them out of early retirement.

High on Life

PlayStation 4 | PlayStation 5

Fresh out of high school with no job and no ambition, you’ve really got nothing going for you until an alien cartel that wants to get high off humanity invades Earth. Now, you and a team of charismatic talking guns must answer the hero’s call and become the deadliest intergalactic bounty hunter the cosmos has ever seen. Travel to a variety of biomes and locations across the cosmos, go up against the nefarious Garmantuous and his gang of goons, collect loot, meet unique characters, and more, in the latest comedy adventure from Squanch Games. 

Pac-Man World Re-Pac

PlayStation 4 | PlayStation 5

In this 2004 remake of the original PlayStation platformer, with improved UI, fine-tuned mechanics and updated visuals, Pac-Man arrives home on his birthday to find the Ghosts have kidnapped Pac-Man’s family & friends and ruined his party. Off to the rescue, Pac-Man sets out to Ghost Island. Dodge Ghosts, solve environmental puzzles, rescue the Pac-Fam, and more in this platforming adventure. Play a collection of 3D mazes in Maze mode, clear Quest mode to unlock the original Pac-Man game in Original mode.