Saturday, 16 October 2021 13:05

PS Plus Free Games for November 2021 Might Be Taking a Quantity Over Quality Approach

Written by Joshua Duckworth
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A recent announcement seems quite concerning for the future of PS Plus free game offerings, with November ultimately being proof one way or the other.

It’s no secret that PS Plus’ hot streak has come to an end. Although the game offered some stellar offerings at the beginning of the year, the past couple of months have upset many players. For example, PS Plus free games for October 2021 were Hell Let Loose, Mortal Kombat X, and PGA Tour 2K21, with those last two not being very appealing games for one reason or the other.

As such, many are likely hoping for a better month in November. Fans may have already known that PS Plus had set up a big November, announcing the standalone GTA Online release as part of its monthly features (though not decidedly what), but that delay means fans are getting something else. However, it doesn’t seem like the recent PS Plus news is designed to make its offerings more appealing, just…more.

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PS Plus Free VR Games Beginning November 2021

Earlier this month, Sony revealed that it would be giving fans three “bonus” VR games to PS Plus subscribers in November. This is part of the celebration of PSVR’s fifth anniversary, and it’s certainly exciting for VR fans. This could be a good, free way to tide themselves over until PSVR2, especially as the article seemingly suggests that these new PS Plus “bonus” VR games are just beginning in November…and will continue thereafter.

As such, fans can reasonably expect a total of six games for free in November 2021. Three of them will be PSVR games, while the other three will be the standard selection for PS Plus subscribers: one brand new PS5 game, two PS4 games. But, given the past couple of months, this may not be as exciting as it sounds, even for VR lovers. Non-VR players already won’t be invested, which is reasonable, but it still doesn’t bode well for the overall pattern.

PS Plus Free Games for November 2021 Aren’t Hurt By VR, but by The Number of VR Games

PS Plus subscribers know the service operates off several patterns. The reveal and release date of PS Plus is always the same, the number of games remains consistent for months, and there are subtle clues if a new game is a PS Plus title or not. At the same time, the end of 2019/beginning of 2020 saw PS Plus’ one big game, one niche game offering approach, while mid-2020 to mid-2021 saw a lot of games release in anticipation or celebration of the PS5. Now, as it seemingly settles into a “new PS5 game, two PS4 games” model, it’s throwing three PSVR games on top of that.

And that’s worrisome. PS Plus would likely do better, even if it were a bit more challenging, to offer one PS5 game, two PS4 games, and one PSVR game every month if the service was capable of keeping up the variety among the titles, as well as their general appeal (think PGA Tour 2K21 only appealing to golf fans). The fact of the matter is PS Plus hasn’t had a strong couple of months and throwing three games on top of that could be suggesting a new pattern for PS Plus: quantity over quality.

And that’s not a good thing. Six games per month that fans aren’t really interested in, aside from maybe the one PS5 game, isn’t a winning strategy. It could be that, since these are separate “bonus” games, fans won’t actually have to worry about this, but until PS Plus’ proper reveal for November comes around, this announcement does seem more concerning than it should.

PS Plus subscribers get a handful of free games every month.

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