April’s PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium lineup leans on a big first party return, a glossy racer and a strong mix of genres. Here’s why it is a good month to revisit the subscription, who gets the most value, and how Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered changes the equation.
April’s PlayStation Plus Game Catalog additions go live on April 21 for Extra and Premium members, and this month feels like Sony trying to cover several bases at once. There is a prestige first party return with Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered, a big third party open world racer in The Crew Motorfest, a deep sports sim with Football Manager 26 Console, and a scattering of oddities like Squirrel with a Gun and horror spin off The Casting of Frank Stone.
It is not the sort of month that drops a brand new blockbuster, but it is quietly one of the more rounded lineups the service has seen lately, with clear value for different kinds of players.
Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered’s return and why it matters
Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered is the headline story. Sony previously cycled the original Horizon out of the catalog, so its comeback, now in remastered PS5 form, immediately makes April feel more substantial. For many PS5 owners who skipped it the first time, this is the definitive way to play one of PlayStation’s hallmark open world adventures.
The remaster upgrades lighting, character models and foliage density while tightening performance and loading. Combined with DualSense support, it turns Aloy’s journey into a more modern showcase that still holds up narratively and mechanically almost a decade on. As a catalog addition it is the sort of “anchor” game that justifies a month or two of subscription time on its own, especially for new adopters of PS5 hardware.
Sony also softens the blow for PS4 users by slotting in Horizon Zero Dawn Complete Edition instead. It lacks the visual sheen of the PS5 version but includes the Frozen Wilds expansion and still delivers the full story. That cross generation coverage makes Horizon feel like a tentpole for the entire catalog, not just for the current console.
From a value perspective, Horizon’s return patches a noticeable hole in the first party library on the service. When you can pair it with Forbidden West, Ghost of Tsushima, God of War and other Sony staples that have rotated through the catalog, Extra and Premium look more like holistic “PS5 starter libraries” than revolving demo shelves.
The Crew Motorfest: the easy win for racer fans
If Horizon is the prestige single player epic, The Crew Motorfest is the obvious pick for anyone who wants something social and immediately gratifying. Ubisoft’s open world racer sends you to a condensed Hawaii full of themed playlists, seasonal events and an always busy online population.
On PS Plus, Motorfest works especially well for drop in players. You can sample different racing disciplines, cruise the island with friends or just knock out a few playlists without worrying about long term commitment or sunk cost. Since it includes both PS4 and PS5 versions, it is a strong co op choice for households running mixed hardware.
For racing fans who skipped it at launch due to live service fatigue or microtransaction concerns, getting it as part of the catalog takes the sting out. You can enjoy the core driving model and varied car list while treating cosmetic and grind heavy systems as optional instead of obligatory.
Football Manager 26 Console and Monster Train: strategy and sim depth
Sports sim enthusiasts finally get a proper headline in the form of Football Manager 26 Console on PS5. The console editions are streamlined compared to their PC counterparts, but for pad based play on a TV this version hits a smart balance between depth and accessibility. Tucked inside a subscription, the barrier to entry disappears, making it easy to experiment with a multi season save that you might not have bought outright.
Monster Train adds a different flavor of brain work. It is a roguelike deck builder where you defend a multi level train from invading forces, making run defining decisions on card upgrades and clan synergies. In the Game Catalog context it is perfect for short sessions and “one more run” nights, augmenting April’s lineup with something mechanically dense but low on time pressure.
Together, Football Manager 26 Console and Monster Train make April surprisingly generous for strategy and management fans, a cohort that often gets just one token pick per month if anything at all.
Warriors: Abyss, Squirrel with a Gun and The Casting of Frank Stone
Warriors: Abyss, available on both PS4 and PS5, fills the action quota with a blend of hack and slash combat and light RPG progression. It is not a premium, marquee release, but within the subscription it becomes an easy recommendation for players who want a weekend of flashy combos and co operative monster slaying without needing to learn complex systems.
On the opposite end of the tone spectrum sits Squirrel with a Gun. It is a physics driven sandbox joke made real, where the gag of a tiny squirrel wielding oversized firearms is supported by simple objectives and slapstick chaos. As a full price purchase it might be a hard sell, but in PS Plus it is the kind of curiosity you download on a whim, laugh with for a couple of evenings and then keep on your drive for visiting friends.
The Casting of Frank Stone rounds out the line up on PS5 for horror aficionados. Tied to the Dead by Daylight universe, it is a narrative driven experience that trades the multiplayer focus of its parent game for a contained story and atmosphere. Dropping it into the catalog gives horror fans something fresh to chew on without requiring them to already be invested in Dead by Daylight’s ecosystem.
Premium bonus: Wild Arms 4 keeps the classic shelf alive
For Premium subscribers, Wild Arms 4 is the single classic addition this month. It is another reminder that Sony is slowly, perhaps too slowly, growing the PS2 era library on modern hardware. As a turn based JRPG with a distinctive hex battle system and an unusually modern setting for its series, it offers something different from the more standard fantasy titles already available.
One classic game will not sway anyone on its own, but for long time PlayStation fans building up a backlog of older RPGs, April’s Wild Arms 4 drop is a nice extra on top of the main catalog rather than a centerpiece.
Who gets the best value this month?
If you are new to PS5 or returning after a break, April is an easy month to justify a subscription. Between Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered and The Crew Motorfest you get one top shelf solo epic and one sprawling multiplayer racer, both of which can anchor dozens of hours of play. Add Football Manager 26 Console or Monster Train if you enjoy thinking several moves ahead, and you have a well rounded library for the price of a single month.
For PS4 only players, the lineup is slightly weaker but still worthwhile. Horizon Zero Dawn Complete Edition is an all timer, and The Crew Motorfest plus Warriors: Abyss offer plenty of co op and arcade style fun. You do miss the newer, PS5 only curios like Squirrel with a Gun and The Casting of Frank Stone, so the month’s appeal is more about finally ticking Horizon off your backlog than about breadth.
For long time Extra and Premium subscribers who already finished Horizon years ago, April is less explosive. The value shifts toward experimentation: hopping into Motorfest for some casual racing nights, sampling Monster Train runs, or giving Squirrel with a Gun a spin simply because it is there. It is a month that rewards variety seekers more than those hunting for one giant new experience.
Does Horizon’s return change the month’s appeal?
Yes. Without Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered coming back, April’s catalog would look like a decent, eclectic update headlined by The Crew Motorfest but lacking a marquee first party draw. Horizon’s return reframes the offer. Instead of feeling like a filler month between bigger drops, it becomes a solid entry point for new subscribers and new PS5 owners, anchoring the lineup with a proven classic that now shows off the hardware more effectively.
For Extra and Premium, that is exactly what the monthly Game Catalog should do: rotate in one or two games that can stand as genuine reasons to subscribe for 30 days, then surround them with a spread of genres that encourage exploration. April 2026 might not be the flashiest month on paper, but thanks to Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered, it is one of the more convincing months to revisit or trial PlayStation Plus in the first half of the year.