Sony has opened 2026 with a familiar play: a compact, three-game PlayStation Plus Essential drop. Starting Tuesday, January 6, PlayStation Plus Essential subscribers can claim Need for Speed Unbound (PS5), Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed (PS5, PS4) and Core Keeper (PS5, PS4). The trio stays free to grab through Monday, February 2.
Three very different flavors of free
Need for Speed Unbound is the biggest name here and the clearest crowd-pleaser for people who like speed, flash, and neon-soaked street races. Criterion’s 2022 racer is set in Lakeshore City (a Chicago-ish playground), blends single-player and multiplayer modes, and leans into customization and outrunning the cops — the game's Heat system raises the stakes as you push your rep.Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed brings back a curious piece of Disney game history. Originally a Wii title from 2010, the 2024 remaster sharpens visuals and smooths some of the original mechanical rough edges while keeping the paint-and-thinner gameplay that sends Mickey into Wasteland to face forgotten characters like Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.
Core Keeper is the oddball of the bunch: a sandbox-survival, top-down exploration game that mixes resource-gathering, base-building, cooking, and co-op. Think of it as a subterranean blend of Terraria’s excavation and Stardew Valley’s gentle systems, with a survival twist.
Why some players are shrugging
Not everyone is thrilled. Sony had signaled a push toward PS5-first content for 2026, and yet two of these three titles are cross-gen. Some fans called the lineup safe rather than spectacular — a remaster, an indie darling, and a 2022 arcade racer may not match the hype of past months that featured bigger or newer releases.If you missed December’s rotating batch, remember those titles — including Lego Horizon Adventures and Neon White — must be claimed by Monday, January 5, or they disappear from the monthly vault.
A quieter point worth noting: this kind of monthly offering still matters to how people choose tiers and hardware. For players deciding whether to jump to new hardware or chase extra value in subscription tiers, Sony’s service and platform moves are part of the picture. Recent developments like the PlayStation Portal cloud streaming update and hints of a PS5 cross-buy icon feed into that conversation.
If you are thinking about upgrading to better performance or future-proofing your library, consider what hardware and subscription level make sense for you — some readers will be nudged toward a new console like the PlayStation 5 Pro if they want the smoothest PS5 experience.
Practical details and a reminder- Availability window: January 6 to February 2, 2026.
- Who gets them: All PlayStation Plus members (Essential and up) can claim these titles.
- Don’t miss December’s lineup: you have until January 5 to add last month’s offerings to your library.
Whether this January set is a solid start or a soft entry depends on what you like. Need for Speed Unbound will satisfy racing fans, Epic Mickey offers a nostalgic but refreshed adventure, and Core Keeper gives a cozy, open-ended experience for people who like to tinker underground. If you want a little more context about PlayStation’s broader service strategy, the links above cover recent platform and feature moves that could shape monthly offerings later in 2026.
Claim what you want when the games go live — and if you’re not on PS5 yet but tempted by future PS5-first drops, weigh that against the cost and benefits of an upgrade or a higher PS Plus tier.