PS Plus: 9 Free Games Drop Next Week—2 Must-Play AAA Titles in the Lineup
This is hands-down one of the beefiest PS Plus drops in months. Just a year and a half after launch, Space Marine 2 storms into March, flanked by Persona 5 Royal and seven more titles hot on its heels.
After February’s big splash with Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Sony isn’t letting up on the subscription hype. This Tuesday, the Japanese giant officially revealed the nine games joining the PS Plus Extra and Premium catalog on March 17, confirming the leaks from recent days. The lineup is a wild mix of fresh AAA blockbusters, punchy indies, and retro classics—Sony’s generosity is starting to feel like the new normal.
Image credit: Sony
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 — A 2024 AAA Already on PS Plus
This is the main event for March. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, which launched in September 2024 on PS5, is hitting the Extra catalog barely a year and a half after release. That’s lightning-fast for a game of this scale. Saber Interactive’s third-person shooter drops you into the power armor of the legendary Space Marine Titus, leading a spectacular campaign against endless Tyranid hordes—think hundreds of enemies on screen at once.
Since launch, the game’s gotten hefty updates: new missions, weapons, and enemies. Its three-player co-op PvE mode, with six unlockable classes, cranks up the replay value. Throw in a 6v6 PvP mode and you’ve got the full package—perfect for anyone who hasn’t taken the plunge yet.
Persona 5 Royal — The cult JRPG finally hits PS Plus
The other heavyweight this month is, of course, Persona 5 Royal. With a 95/100 on Metacritic, Atlus’s JRPG has been a genre-defining classic for nearly a decade. The Royal edition, available on PS5 and PS4, massively expands the 2017 original with new characters, fresh confidants, extra story arcs, and a grappling hook mechanic that opens up previously unreachable areas. Expect to sink well over 100 hours if you want to see everything.
The art direction is still top-tier—stylish menus, punchy animations, and an electrifying color palette. Composer Shoji Meguro’s soundtrack? Legendary. It’s the sound of a whole generation of gamers.
Persona 5 Royal – Ultimate Edition — The complete package with all DLC
If you’re on PS4 and want the Persona 5 Royal experience in its most complete form, the Ultimate Edition is also part of the Extra lineup. This version bundles every piece of DLC: the Kasumi Costume Bundle, Battle Bundle, and Persona Bundle—meaning all costumes, bonus battles, and extra Personas are included.
It’s the ultimate way to dive into the Phantom Thieves’ adventure without missing a thing. On PS5, the standard Persona 5 Royal will do just fine, but on PS4, the Ultimate Edition is hands-down the best way in.
Metal Eden — The cyberpunk boomer shooter surprise
Not as hyped as the headliners, Metal Eden could easily be the sleeper hit of the month. This fast-paced FPS with a cyberpunk vibe puts you in the boots of Hyper Aska, sent on a suicide mission into the monolithic city of Moebius. The mood swings between oppressive sci-fi and frantic action, with mechanical showdowns against robotic troops and elemental forces that pack a punch.
If you’re into DOOM, Ultrakill, or Prodeus, this is your playground. The game’s been praised for its fresh ideas and bold art direction, helping it stand out in an increasingly crowded genre. An indie gem worth a shot—especially since it’s included at no extra cost with Extra.
EA Sports Madden NFL 26 — The 2026 edition with next-gen AI
The latest entry in EA Sports’ American football franchise leans on a new AI and machine learning system trained on thousands of real NFL plays—nearly a decade’s worth of data. The result? More realistic behaviors, unique player traits, and adaptive counter-strategies that mirror the league’s top quarterbacks and coaches.
Player movement has also been overhauled to capture the explosive energy of real football. The genre might be niche in Europe, but NFL fans on PS5 have zero excuses not to give this edition a spin—now available with the Extra tier.
The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria — Survival and crafting in Middle-earth
The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria takes a fresh angle on Tolkien’s world. Forget epic quests across Middle-earth—here, you’re delving deep into the Mines of Moria. Commissioned by Gimli himself, you play as a company of Dwarves tasked with reclaiming the legendary Khazad-dûm. The game blends survival, crafting, building, and exploration in a procedurally generated world, so every expedition is a new adventure.
Playable solo or online co-op, Return to Moria is for Tolkien fans and survival-crafting enthusiasts alike. Critics were mixed at launch, but the game has found its audience thanks to its rich atmosphere and smart use of the license.
Blasphemous 2 — The gothic metroidvania returns
The Penitent One is back. Blasphemous 2, the sequel to the Spanish metroidvania praised for its brutality and unique style, lands on PS Plus Extra for both PS5 and PS4. Dragged from eternal rest, the protagonist is thrown into a brand-new labyrinthine world, crawling with grotesque enemies and towering bosses just waiting to send you back to the grave.
Non-linear exploration is still the heart of the game: every path leads somewhere, and it’s up to you to decide the order in which you face the horrors ahead. The gothic art direction, deeply rooted in Spanish religious imagery, gives the game a visual identity you won’t find anywhere else. A must-play for fans of the genre.
Astroneer — Space exploration and limitless creativity
Time for a total vibe shift with Astroneer, a space sandbox that’s as colorful as it is chill. The concept is simple but addictive: with your terrain-shaping tool, you can sculpt the landscape like clay, dig tunnels, gather resources, and build bases across a solar system of seven fully explorable planets. From the surface to deep caves and mysterious planetary cores—everything’s up for grabs.
Available on PS5 and PS4, Astroneer really shines in co-op. Building massive industrial complexes or inventing mini-games with friends is half the fun. It’s the perfect palate cleanser after a session of Space Marine 2 or Blasphemous 2.
Tekken Dark Resurrection — The PSP classic returns on PS Plus Premium
On the Premium side, Sony’s only adding one title this month: Tekken Dark Resurrection, the enhanced version of Tekken 5 that first hit PSP in 2006. This entry introduced now-iconic fighters like Lili, Dragunov, and Armor King, each with their own opening and ending cutscenes.
Its arrival in the Classics Catalog isn’t without controversy: the PSP edition lacks versus mode—a tough pill to swallow for a fighting game. Nostalgic players will get a kick out of it, but hardcore fighting fans might be left wanting.
All nine games will be available starting March 17 for PS Plus Extra and Premium subscribers. With two fresh AAA titles leading the charge and a lineup spanning TPS, JRPG, indie FPS, survival, and fighting games, Sony keeps ramping up the pace for big-name additions—even if six games are leaving the catalog in March. The real question: can April keep up this breakneck rhythm, as Sony’s strategy clearly aims for ever-faster post-launch arrivals?
Free games, PlayStation 5, PlayStation Plus
