In exchange for a subscription fee, PlayStation Plus subscribers can access all kinds of bonuses, special deals, and play games online. However, one of the most popular benefits of a PlayStation Plus subscription is the ability to claim free games each month. Prior to the launch of the PlayStation 5, these free games consisted of two titles on PS4, but now PS Plus subscribers can get their hands on three games total each month - two on PS4 and one on PS5.
The free PS Plus games follow a pretty predictable pattern. The free PS Plus games for any given month are made available on the first Tuesday of the month when the PlayStation Store resets. Then on the last Wednesday of the month, Sony announces the next batch of free PS Plus games. There have been exceptions to the rule, but generally this is how PlayStation Plus has operated for years. However, February 2021 is already different from the norm.
There are a couple of different ways February 2021 differs from the norm when it comes to the free PS Plus games lineup. And while it's possible there will be even more differences when the rest of the lineup is announced, here is how it stands out so far.
One of the Free Games Has Already Been Announced
As previously mentioned, Sony usually announces the next batch of free PS Plus games on the last Wednesday of each month. Sometimes Sony has broken from this tradition, announcing the free games a few days earlier, but it has mostly stuck to this routine. The free PS Plus games for February 2021 differ in that Sony has already revealed one of the free PS Plus games that subscribers will be able to add to their collection. In fact, Sony made the announcement all the way back in October of 2020.
In October 2020, Sony announced that the planned PS5 exclusive launch title Destruction AllStars would miss its release date and have to be delayed to 2021. Developed by Lucid Games, Destruction AllStars is a multiplayer-only vehicular combat game that differs from other titles in the genre in that it allows players to control characters outside of their cars as well. Blending elements of hero shooters with traditional vehicular combat gameplay, Destruction AllStars may not have been the most-anticipated game in the PS5 launch lineup, but it would have given early adopters a unique multiplayer experience at the very least.
While some PlayStation fans were upset to hear about Destruction AllStars' delay, the announcement wasn't all bad news. While confirming the Destruction AllStars delay, Sony also announced that the game would be launching as a free PlayStation Plus title in February 2021. The free PS Plus games for February 2021 are expected to be made available on Tuesday, February 2, after the free PS Plus games for January 2021 are cycled out, so it's possible that is Destruction AllStars' release date.
Then again, it's possible Destruction AllStars will come out later in the month. There is precedent for this, as Bugsnax was not made available to claim for PS Plus subscribers until the PlayStation 5 launched on November 12. Considering this, fans will want to wait for specific release date information from Sony before they circle any dates on the calendar. In the meantime, there is another similarity between Destruction AllStars and Bugsnax that makes the free PS Plus games for February 2021 a unique situation.
Two Month Claim Period
The vast majority of games that have been made available for free to PS Plus subscribers have been available for roughly one month at a time. Subscribers have to claim the free games within that window, and then they are able to keep playing them as long as they stay subscribed to the service. However, Destruction AllStars is breaking from tradition, as PS Plus subscribers will have a whopping two months to claim the free game and add it to their collection.
Bugsnax went a similar route, with PS Plus subscribers able to claim that game for free for a two month window as well. In fact, Bugsnax being free for two months led some to assume that would be the norm for PS5 games, though other free PS Plus PS5 games have proven that isn't the case. For example, Worms Rumble was the free PS5 PS Plus game for December 2020, and it was only available for one month. Likewise, January 2021's free PS5 game Maneater will be cycled out come February, when it will be replaced by Destruction AllStars.
As it stands, Sony has yet to announce the other free PS Plus games for February 2021, so it's possible the lineup will break from tradition in other, unforeseen ways as well. Occasionally Sony likes to throw a bonus game in the mix, oftentimes a PlayStation VR title, so maybe that will happen again in February. Sony did give PS Plus subscribers in Spain an extra free game for January, so maybe it will do the same for PS Plus subscribers in other regions for February, though it seems unlikely.