Is PS Plus Free For December? Here‘s What You Need To Know

Hey friend! With the holiday season here, you may be wondering if you can score some free games through a PlayStation Plus subscription in December. I‘ve got you covered with all the details.

The short answer is: Yes and no. The base PlayStation Plus Essential membership that provides online multiplayer access and monthly free titles is not free in December 2022. You still need an active paid subscription to claim those monthly games.

However, PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium/Deluxe members do get an additional lineup of free games added to their catalogs in December! More on that in a bit.

Let me break things down for you…

What You Get With A PlayStation Plus Essential Subscription

PlayStation Plus Essential is the base level PS Plus subscription that costs $9.99 per month. It gives you:

• Online multiplayer access
• Cloud game saves
• Exclusive discounts on the PlayStation Store
• 2-3 free monthly downloadable games

These are pretty sweet benefits for only $10 a month! Being able to play games online with friends is huge. Plus getting free games is an awesome perk.

Now for December 2022, the free monthly PlayStation Plus Essential games you can download are:

• Mass Effect Legendary Edition (PS4) – Includes the single-player campaigns and DLC from Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, and Mass Effect 3. This legendary sci-fi RPG trilogy is a must-play.
• Biomutant (PS4) – An open world post-apocalyptic kung-fu fable RPG where you can mix mutant abilities. Reviews say it has fun combat and exploration.
• Divine Knockout (PS4, PS5) – A hilarious third-person platform fighter where you battle it out as gods and myths. Great for couch multiplayer.

I don‘t know about you, but I‘m pumped to check out Biomutant and Divine Knockout!

These 3 free games are available to download and add to your PlayStation game library all month long. As long as you maintain an active PS Plus Essential membership, you can play them whenever you want.

Pretty sweet deal!

Even More Free Games With Extra And Premium Plans

Now, if you upgrade to a PlayStation Plus Extra or Premium/Deluxe plan, you get all the Essential benefits plus a huge catalog of 400+ downloadable PS4 and PS5 games!

Here are the PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium differences:

• PlayStation Plus Extra – $14.99 per month. Gives you access to the PS Plus game catalog of 400+ PS4 and PS5 titles.

• PlayStation Plus Premium – $17.99 per month. Includes the Extra game catalog and adds 340 more PS1, PS2, PSP games available to stream or download.

So in December 2022, PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium/Deluxe members will get these additional free games added to the membership catalog at no extra cost:

PlayStation Plus Extra New Games

• Chorus (PS4, PS5) – A space combat shooter where you play a sentient ship.
• What Remains of Edith Finch (PS4) – An acclaimed walking simulator about a cursed family.
• The Gardens Between (PS4) – A puzzle adventure game about time manipulation.
• Earth Defense Force: World Brothers (PS4) – Over-the-top bug-blasting shooter action.
• Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain (PS4) – More intense EDF bug-hunting combat.
• Onee Chanbara Origin (PS4) – Stylish samurai hack-and-slash zombie slaying.
• Murdered: Soul Suspect (PS4) – Solve your own murder as a ghost detective.

PlayStation Plus Premium/Deluxe New Games

• Ratchet & Clank (PS3) – The classic original R&C adventure.
• Amalur: Re-Reckoning (PS4) – Open world action RPG.
• Yakuza 3 Remastered (PS4) } Part of the beloved Yakuza crime drama series.
• Yakuza 4 Remastered (PS4) }
• Yakuza 5 Remastered (PS4) }
• Limbo (PS3) – Iconic indie horror platformer.
• Ultra Street Fighter IV (PS3) – Classic competitive fighting game.
• Castlevania: Lords of Shadow (PS3) – Dracula-hunting action.

So all up, PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium/Deluxe members are getting 16 free additional games in December! That‘s a pretty sweet holiday treat if you ask me.

Having access to a huge gaming catalog for one monthly subscription fee is really nice. You get to discover and play so many titles you may have missed out on before.

When Can I Start Downloading December‘s Free Games?

Now I‘m sure you‘re wondering when you can start downloading all these free PlayStation Plus games for December 2022. Here‘s the release schedule:

• The 3 PlayStation Plus Essential free monthly games – Mass Effect Legendary Edition, Biomutant, and Divine Knockout – are available to start downloading and adding to your library beginning November 1. This gives you the whole month to grab them.

• The Extra and Premium catalog additions will go live on December 6, 2022.

Once claimed, all these PS Plus monthly freebies can be downloaded and played whenever you want as long as your membership remains active.

Letting subscribers get next month‘s free Essential games in advance is really nice. It gives you extra time to download massive titles like the Mass Effect Legendary Edition.

And having the Extra/Premium games land early in the month means more time to play during the holidays!

How Much Does A PlayStation Plus Membership Cost?

Let‘s quickly recap the PlayStation Plus membership pricing:

• PlayStation Plus Essential – $9.99 per month, $24.99 quarterly, or $59.99 annually
• PlayStation Plus Extra – $14.99 per month, $39.99 quarterly, or $99.99 annually
• PlayStation Plus Premium – $17.99 per month, $49.99 quarterly, or $119.99 annually

You can often find discounted PS Plus deals during sales events and holidays, especially on 12-month subscriptions. So keep an eye out for any membership bargains!

In my opinion, PlayStation Plus Extra gives you the best value if you play a lot of different games. Access to that huge 400+ game catalog plus monthly games for only $15 a month is fantastic.

But Essential also rocks if you mainly care about online multiplayer and the monthly free titles. At $10 monthly, it‘s a great gaming deal.

What Games Are Leaving The Service In December?

Now for a bummer update…while new games are added to the PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium catalogs each month, some titles do get cycled out.

According to reports, these major games will be removed in December:

• Assassin‘s Creed Valhalla (PS4, PS5)
• Red Dead Redemption 2 (PS4)
• NBA 2K22 (PS4, PS5)
• WRC 10 (PS4, PS5)

Here‘s a handy table showing some of the biggest PS Plus game removals coming in December:

So if you‘ve been eager to play any of those titles, make sure to download them before they depart the service this month!

Rotation keeps the PS Plus catalogs fresh with new games added. But it does mean occasionally losing access to some favorites.

Additional PlayStation Plus Changes Coming In 2023

Beyond the monthly PS Plus game offerings, Sony has announced one other notable change coming to PlayStation Plus benefits next year:

The PlayStation Plus Collection For PS5 Will End On May 9, 2023

Since the PS5 launch, PlayStation Plus members with the console have received the PlayStation Plus Collection – a curated library of 20 acclaimed PS4 games you can download and play through backwards compatibility.

However, Sony has confirmed this PlayStation Plus Collection will sunset on May 9, 2023.

That means PS5 owners have until then to redeem any of the collection titles they haven‘t claimed yet, such as God of War (2018), Monster Hunter: World, Fallout 4, and more. You can see the full PlayStation Plus Collection game list here.

As long as you maintain an active PS Plus membership, you‘ll still be able to access and play any PS Plus Collection games you‘ve already redeemed after May 9th. But the program will no longer be available for new subscribers.

So be sure to grab any remaining collection games while you can over the next few months!

When Will January 2023‘s PS Plus Lineup Be Revealed?

You‘re probably wondering when Sony will announce the PlayStation Plus free games for January 2023 now.

Well, PlayStation usually confirms the next month‘s PS Plus Essential free games on the last Wednesday of the current month.

So we can expect Sony to officially reveal the January 2023 PS Plus Essential lineup on Wednesday, December 28, 2022.

The January 2023 PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium titles normally get confirmed in the first week of the new month, shortly before their addition to the service on the first Tuesday.

So sometime around January 3-6, we should find out what Extra and Premium games kick off 2023. Exciting!

Now let‘s recap the key points:

To Sum Up…

While a PlayStation Plus membership is not free in December 2022, the service offers some stellar free games for subscribers this month:

• PS Plus Essential members get Mass Effect Legendary Edition, Biomutant, and Divine Knockout

• PS Plus Extra and Premium members also receive an additional 16 free games like Chorus, Ratchet & Clank, and more

• Claim December‘s PS Plus monthly games before they get rotated out

• PS5 owners should grab any remaining PS Plus Collection titles before that offer ends on May 9, 2023

• January 2023‘s PS Plus lineup will be unveiled on December 28 (Essential) and early January (Extra/Premium)

So enjoy those PlayStation Plus freebies this month! Let me know if you have any other questions. Happy gaming!