PlayStation Gives Away Major PS5 Game for Free in PSN Error

June 13, 2026, 7:15am

PlayStation has given away a major PS5 game — one of the biggest PS5 games of 2026, and its own game at that — for free after a PSN error. PSN errors resulting in free games being given away on the PlayStation Store are not unheard of, but they do seldom happen. If PlayStation fans are lucky, there may be one or two instances of this happening any given year. And this new instance may be the most high-profile instance in a very long time.

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Recently, what is essentially a PSN glitch resulted in an unknown number of PS5 and PS5 Pro users getting a free copy of Marathon, the new first-person shooter from PlayStation studio Bungie, the team best known for the original Halo trilogy and the Destiny games. Marathon costs $40 on the PlayStation Store, so being able to score a free copy is quite the get for PS5 users, as it’s not even free with PS Plus, at least not yet. This is exactly what some were able to do. Unfortunately, the issue has been resolved, so there is no longer any way to glitch a free copy. Many times in the past, when this has happened, the free downloads have not been honored. This time, though, they have.

Free 2026 PS5 Game

For those who completely missed it, there was a glitch with the PlayStation Store involving the recent free-to-play week the game had. During this period, the game could be downloaded and played for free. Meanwhile, the Deluxe Edition was heavily discounted and available at the same time this was happening. Now, you’re only supposed to be able to upgrade to this edition if you own the game, which is where this free promotion comes into play. Because of this, PS5 users were able to get the Deluxe Edition, which was advertised as coming with the game. So, when the free trial ended, Bungie and PlayStation were left having to honor this, giving some PS5 users a free copy of the shooter. As you would expect, the wording of the Deluxe Edition has also been fixed so as not to say it includes a copy of the game as well.

As for what some PS5 users have received, they have received an extraction shooter that is having a hard time establishing itself. The game released to a solid 82 on Metacritic, has strong user reviews, is multi-platform, and has a decently sized player base, but not big enough to sustain Bungie and nothing like what it achieved with Destiny and its sequel. To this end, it’s been a bit of a flop so far, which may make giving it away for free a bit easier for Sony.

All of that said, and as always, feel free to leave a comment or two letting us know what you think, or join the video game conversations happening over on the ComicBook Forum.