TL;DR
Risk of Rain 2, Tropico 6, and Roki are among the titles leaving PlayStation Plus in July 2026, giving subscribers until the end of the month to play them. This marks another quarterly purge of games from Sony’s PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium tiers, a cycle that now removes roughly 10–15 titles every three months.
What Happened
Sony Interactive Entertainment has confirmed the next wave of departures from its PlayStation Plus game catalogue, with Risk of Rain 2, Tropico 6, and Roki headlining the list of titles scheduled to leave on July 31, 2026. The announcement, published by IGN on Friday, June 19, 2026, gives subscribers just over six weeks to finish these games before they disappear from the service.
Key Facts
- Risk of Rain 2, the roguelike third-person shooter from Hopoo Games, has been in the PS Plus catalogue since March 2024 — a tenure of roughly 28 months.
- Tropico 6, the city-building political simulator from Kalypso Media, arrived on PS Plus in January 2024 and will depart after 30 months in the library.
- Roki, the narrative-driven adventure game from Polygon Treehouse, joined PS Plus in February 2025 and will have a shorter stay of just 17 months.
- The departures affect PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium subscribers only — Essential tier members are not impacted by these removals.
- Sony typically removes 10–15 games per quarter from its catalogue, with July 2026’s list falling within that historical range.
- The removals come as Sony prepares for its August 2026 lineup announcement, expected in mid-July 2026.
- Subscribers can purchase any departing title at a 20% discount during the final weeks before removal, a standard practice for Sony.
Breaking It Down
The July 2026 departures reveal a consistent pattern in Sony’s content rotation strategy: games that have been in the catalogue for 24–30 months are the most likely to be removed. Risk of Rain 2 and Tropico 6 both fall squarely in this window, having launched in early-to-mid 2024. Roki, by contrast, arrived only in February 2025, suggesting that shorter-tenure games are now also being cycled out more aggressively.
Risk of Rain 2 has been available on PS Plus for 28 months — nearly as long as the entire lifespan of the PlayStation Plus Extra tier itself, which launched in June 2022.
This longevity underscores a tension in Sony’s model: games that drive subscriber acquisition early in a service’s life eventually become liabilities when licensing costs outpace their value in retaining users. Risk of Rain 2 has sold over 4 million copies across all platforms as of 2024, making it a high-demand title that likely commands a substantial licensing fee from Sony. After 28 months, the cost-benefit calculus shifts toward removal.
Tropico 6 presents a different case. As a 2019 release that has already seen multiple expansions and a next-gen upgrade, its player engagement likely follows a long tail pattern — steady but declining. Sony’s decision to remove it after 30 months suggests the game’s daily active user count on PS Plus no longer justifies the ongoing licensing payment to Kalypso Media.
The inclusion of Roki is the most notable departure. At just 17 months in the catalogue, it represents a shorter-than-average tenure for a single-player narrative game. This could indicate that Polygon Treehouse is preparing a sequel or a deluxe edition, prompting a renegotiation of the PS Plus agreement. Alternatively, it may signal that Sony is tightening its content budget, prioritizing newer titles over older indies.
What Comes Next
Subscribers have until July 31, 2026 to play or purchase these titles. Here are the key developments to watch:
- Mid-July 2026: Sony will announce the August 2026 lineup of new games joining PS Plus, likely revealing which titles will replace the departing ones. Expect 3–5 new additions to the Extra and Premium catalogues.
- July 31, 2026: The final removal date. Subscribers who have not finished Risk of Rain 2, Tropico 6, or Roki will lose access unless they purchase them at the 20% discount.
- August 2026: The next quarterly purge will be announced, typically in late August for a September removal window. Industry sources expect 10–12 more titles to leave.
- September 2026: Sony’s annual PS Plus price review is due, with analysts at Ampere Analysis projecting a potential $10–$15 annual increase for the Extra tier, citing rising content acquisition costs.
The Bigger Picture
This rotation cycle reflects two broader trends in subscription gaming. First, Content Churn Acceleration: Sony is moving toward shorter average tenures for third-party games, compressing the window from 24–36 months in 2023–2024 to 17–30 months by 2026. This mirrors Netflix’s well-documented strategy of rotating licensed content more frequently to control costs.
Second, Licensing Cost Inflation is squeezing margins for all subscription services. The 20% discount offered on departing titles is a deliberate retention tactic — Sony captures revenue from users who would otherwise churn, while avoiding the full cost of keeping the game in the catalogue. As Microsoft’s Game Pass and Apple Arcade compete for the same third-party titles, bidding wars drive up per-title costs, forcing platforms like PS Plus to become more aggressive in their removal schedules.
Key Takeaways
- [Risk of Rain 2 Departure]: The roguelike shooter leaves after 28 months, one of the longest-tenured titles in the PS Plus Extra catalogue, signaling Sony’s shift toward shorter content windows.
- [Tropico 6 Removal]: A 30-month stay for this city-building sim aligns with the typical lifecycle for mid-tier strategy games on subscription services.
- [Roki Exit]: At just 17 months, this narrative game’s departure is unusually early, possibly indicating a sequel announcement or a licensing renegotiation.
- [July 31 Deadline]: Subscribers have until the end of July 2026 to play or purchase these titles at a 20% discount before they leave the catalogue permanently.
