The free PlayStation Plus games for September 2021 have differed from the norm in a couple of different ways. Over the years, Sony has gotten fans used to learning of the free PS Plus games on the last Wednesday of every month, but the free PS Plus games for September 2021 weren't announced until Wednesday, September 1. That's not the only pattern that the free PS Plus games for September 2021 have broken, however.
When Sony launched the PlayStation 5 in November of 2020, it made a big change to the free PS Plus games. Up until that point, PlayStation Plus subscribers were treated to two free PS4 games each month, but Sony started including three free games every month with the launch of the PS5: two free PS4 games and one free PS5 game. And with the free PS5 PS Plus games, Sony has established another pattern when it comes to the free games it gives away through the program.
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Through the free PS Plus games it's given out to PS5 owners, Sony has created an expectation that the free PS5 game will be a new title. From November 2020 through August 2021, nearly every single free PS5 PS Plus game has been a brand new PS5 release, with the one exception being January's Maneater offering. And even then, Sony offered refunds to PS Plus subscribers who had already purchased Maneater prior to it being added to the service.
WIth the free PS Plus games for September 2021, Sony has broken a streak of new games being featured as the free PS5 PS Plus game. There were theories that the free PS5 game would be the Metroidvania FIST: Forged in Shadow Torch, as it launches on the same day that the September PS Plus games are being added to the service and is a PlayStation console exclusive heavily promoted by Sony, but those theories have been proven false.
The free PS5 PS Plus game for September 2021 is Overcooked: All You Can Eat, an enhanced collection of the first two Overcooked games and their DLC. Overcooked: All You Can Eat was a launch title for the PS5, so it's nearly a year old and is unlikely to get PS Plus subscribers any refunds in the same way that Maneater did, but it's still interesting in that it is only the second PS5 PS Plus game to date that hasn't been a new PS5 release.
Free PS5 PS Plus Games So Far
The following is a complete list of the free PS5 PS Plus games so far. As one can see from the lineup, there are only two exceptions when the free PS5 PS Plus game hasn't been a new release, the previously stated Maneater in January and the upcoming Overcooked: All You Can Eat in September.
- Bugsnax (November)
- Worms Rumble (December)
- Maneater (January)
- Destruction AllStars (February)
- Maquette (March)
- Oddworld: Soulstorm (April)
- Wreckfest (May)
- Operation Tango (June)
- A Plague Tale: Innocence (July)
- Hunter's Arena: Legends (August)
- Overcooked: All You Can Eat (September)
Now, some may point to a couple of other games on the list as further examples of the free PS5 games not being new releases, specifically A Plague Tale: Innocence and Wreckfest. But while versions of those games existed prior to their PS Plus inclusion, the PS5 versions of the games were new at the time they were added to the PS Plus lineup. Because of this, they still fit into the pattern and the only two games that haven't are Maneater and Overcooked: All You Can Eat.
It's possible that, with the PS5 1 year anniversary coming up in November, Sony may be feeling less pressure to release new PS5 games as part of the free PS Plus games lineup. It now has a year's worth of PS5 games to pull from to give away to PS Plus subscribers, and won't be hit with public outcry for refunds like with Maneater. Then again, Sony could just as easily go back to giving away new PS5 games as PS Plus titles. Ultimately, fans will have to wait for the free PS Plus games for October 2021 to be announced to have a better idea of what Sony's PS Plus plans may be for the rest of the year.
The free PS Plus games for October 2021 will likely be announced on Wednesday, September 29, though there is a chance they could be announced earlier than that. A PlayStation Showcase event is taking place on September 9, and Sony has been known to make PS Plus announcements at these shows. Needless to say, PlayStation Plus subscribers who are interested in what the next free games will be may want to tune in to the event just in case there's an announcement about the October 2021 lineup - or even a later month.