The PlayStation Plus community is abuzz with anticipation as April 2026’s headline free game has been leaked ahead of Sony’s official announcement, and it’s a heavyweight: Lords of the Fallen (2023). According to a string of reports from trusted insider Billbil-kun, whose track record for PS Plus leaks is nearly flawless, the dark fantasy action-RPG reboot will anchor April’s Essential tier lineup, available to claim from April 7 through May 5, 2026.
This leak, which first surfaced via Dealabs and was quickly picked up by outlets including IGN, VGChartz, and Insider Gaming, has all but been confirmed in the eyes of the gaming world. Billbil-kun’s history of accuracy—and the chorus of corroborating sources—leaves little doubt that Lords of the Fallen is about to become the next must-play title for PlayStation Plus subscribers across all tiers: Essential, Extra, and Premium.
But what exactly is Lords of the Fallen (2023), and why is its arrival on PS Plus such a big deal? The game is a full-scale reboot of the 2014 original, not a direct sequel, and it’s set over a millennium after the events of its predecessor. Developed by Hexworks and published by CI Games, the reboot launched in October 2023 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC (via Steam and Epic Games Store). It quickly made waves, selling a remarkable 1 million copies within just 10 days of release, as reported by CI Games and highlighted by VGC.
At its core, Lords of the Fallen is a souls-like RPG, heavily inspired by FromSoftware’s genre-defining hits like Dark Souls and Elden Ring. Players step into the boots of a Dark Crusader, tasked with toppling the demon god Adyr in a world torn between two overlapping realms—the living world and the haunting Umbral realm. This dual-world mechanic, where players shift between realities to solve puzzles and battle enemies, is the game’s defining twist and a feature that sets it apart from its peers. IGN praised the innovation, writing, “Lords of the Fallen is a great Soulslike, and its killer new idea of swapping between two versions of the world to solve puzzles and slay enemies is an excellent twist to set it apart from the pack.”
The timing of the PS Plus inclusion couldn’t be better. Just a few months ago, in December 2025, CI Games rolled out the major Update 2.5 for Lords of the Fallen, introducing a slew of improvements and fresh content. The update added a challenging ‘Veteran Mode,’ new armor sets, more lethal boss encounters, and upgraded enemy AI. This revitalized the game’s community and, according to Insider Gaming, marked the last major update before the studio shifts focus to the upcoming sequel, Lords of the Fallen 2, expected later in 2026.
For PlayStation Plus subscribers, the claim window for Lords of the Fallen and the rest of April’s lineup opens on April 7 and runs through May 5, 2026. Players who add the game to their library during this period will retain access for as long as their PS Plus subscription remains active, a familiar and much-appreciated policy for the service. Meanwhile, March’s offerings—including Monster Hunter Rise, PGA Tour 2K25, Slime Rancher 2, and The Elder Scrolls Online Collection: Gold Road—are still up for grabs until April 7, so subscribers have a narrow window to claim those titles before they rotate out.
It’s worth noting that Lords of the Fallen (2023) is a current-gen exclusive, available only on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. The original 2014 game, which was previously offered as a PS Plus freebie back in 2016, was for PS4, but the reboot is built from the ground up for new hardware. This raises a lingering question: what will PS4-only players get in April’s lineup? For now, only the major title has leaked, so fans will have to wait until Sony’s official announcement—expected on March 31 or April 1, depending on the source—for the full details.
Critical reception for Lords of the Fallen was solid, though not without caveats. The game scored between 70 and 77 on Metacritic, depending on the platform, with reviewers praising its ambitious world design, innovative mechanics, and “fantastic buildcrafting,” while also noting technical issues and some underwhelming boss fights. Still, the consensus is that the game’s strengths far outweigh its flaws, making it a strong addition to the PlayStation Plus catalog. As IGN put it, “awesome explorable areas and fantastic buildcrafting more than make up for those shortcomings.”
Looking ahead, the arrival of Lords of the Fallen on PS Plus comes at a strategic moment for CI Games. The company is gearing up to release Lords of the Fallen 2 later this year, and the PS Plus exposure could introduce a huge new audience to the franchise just in time for the sequel’s launch. In December 2025, CI Games CEO Marek Tyminski even stirred the pot on social media, teasing that the sequel would feature “attractive female characters in revealing outfits,” a pointed response to what he described as “the growth of political agendas in gaming.” Tyminski’s outspoken stance has sparked debate, but it’s clear the studio is aiming to make waves both in gameplay and in the broader cultural conversation.
As for the rest of April’s PlayStation Plus lineup, Sony is expected to make the full announcement on March 31, 2026. Historically, the Essential tier includes two to three games per month, so subscribers can look forward to more reveals soon. Until then, the leak of Lords of the Fallen has set the stage for a blockbuster month, and the gaming world is watching closely to see how Sony will round out the offering.
For now, PlayStation fans can mark their calendars: April 7, 2026, is when Lords of the Fallen becomes available as a free PS Plus game. Whether you’re a longtime souls-like devotee or just curious about the genre, this is one release you won’t want to miss.