PlayStation Plus' latest announcement of the June game catalog had many fans wondering about the change to the availability of the titles under it, particularly as it is different from before.
PlayStation Plus Quietly Changed Game Availability
Sony has quietly shifted away from its long-standing practice of dropping all new catalog titles on the same day, and the change is already in effect for this month as reflected in its latest blog post.
Typically, when PlayStation adds new games to the PS Plus Game Catalog each month, it does so all at once. This results in a handful of new titles becoming available to download and play at the same time, making the addition of these games a routine event that PS Plus members have come to expect.
As of next week, though, PlayStation will be doing away with this release strategy in favor of a new rollout method.
PlayStation addressed the change with minimal fanfare, saying only that it is "exploring new ways to deliver PlayStation Plus Game Catalog titles in select markets." The markets specifically affected are the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan.
Subscribers in all other regions will still receive the full June lineup at once on June 16 as had been the standard for years, according to ComicBook Gaming.
PS Plus to Rollout Games Instead of One Drop
The new approach staggers game releases across different dates throughout the rest of the month rather than landing all at once. For subscribers in the affected regions, this effectively means some games that would have been available mid-month now arrive later, in some cases as late as June 30.
Not only does it result in games becoming playable later in the month than normal, but it also prompts further confusion when it comes to which games launch on which days. Releasing all of the new PS Plus titles at a single time keeps things simple and lets subscribers have some level of consistency from the service on a month-to-month basis.
No further explanation was given about the reasoning behind the staggered rollout, and it is not yet known whether this will become the permanent delivery method going forward or remain an experiment.
First Rollout on PS Plus June Catalog
The June PlayStation Plus Game Catalog adds eight games in total for Extra and Premium subscribers. "Sonic X Shadow Generations" is already available to download now, making it the first title to land under the new rollout approach.
"Final Fantasy XVI" and "Gitaroo Man" follow on June 16, while "Kingdom Come: Deliverance" and "Life is Strange: Double Exposure" arrive on June 23.
Rounding out the month, "Farming Simulator 25" drops on June 25, with "Black Desert" and "Blades of Fire" closing out the catalog additions on June 30.
"Gitaroo Man" is the sole addition to the Classics tier of PS Plus this month, giving Premium subscribers a nostalgic pick from the PS2 era alongside a strong lineup of more recent releases.
Whether PlayStation continues the staggered rollout into July remains to be seen, but for now, the mid-month single-drop tradition that subscribers had grown used to is no longer the standard.
