CI Games recently laid off 10 percent of its workforce after its 2023 action RPG Lords of the Fallen failed to turn a profit over the last 18 months. The title sold 2.5 million copies globally. The revenue still fell short of development costs. Now the struggling publisher is turning to Sony’s subscription ecosystem to revive its stagnant player base.
According to unconfirmed reports from Dealabs leaker billbil-kun, Lords of the Fallen is scheduled to headline the PlayStation Plus Essential free games lineup for April 2026. Subscribers can reportedly claim the title starting April 7. Sony is expected to make the official lineup announcement on March 31.
A Strategic Corporate Catalyst
Eurogamer and IGN verified the credibility of the leak on Wednesday. Sony has a long history of using heavily updated, formerly troubled games to anchor its monthly PS Plus offerings. The strategy mirrors the recent push when Space Marine 2 anchored the previous monthly catalog.
Hexworks developed the 2023 iteration of Lords of the Fallen. The game features a unique dual-world exploration mechanic between the realms of Axiom and Umbral. Performance issues plagued the initial launch window. Hexworks spent the last two years deploying extensive optimization patches.
A leak from trusted insider billbil-kun reveals Lords of the Fallen as the major free game for PlayStation Plus Essential in April 2026, ahead of Sony’s (continue reading…) pic.twitter.com/6be2hPRwad
— Azat TV (@azattelevision) March 25, 2026
The game runs well today. The financial damage simply outpaced the technical fixes. Placing the game on a massive subscription platform acts as a zero-cost marketing vehicle.
Building the Sequel Audience
CI Games needs this player injection immediately. The company is actively developing Lords of the Fallen 2. That sequel is scheduled to launch later in 2026 for the PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
Giving away the first game builds crucial pre-release hype for the sequel without requiring traditional advertising spend. Millions of PlayStation users will soon add the first chapter to their digital libraries. CI Games hopes those free downloads convert into full-price pre-orders for the follow-up later this year.