Then there’s Horizon Forbidden West, a throwback to the days when Guerrilla Games still made open-world single-player titles rather than live service. It’s returning to PlayStation Plus and remains as compelling as ever, whether you’re playing on PS4 or PS5. Mycopunk is a new title, exiting early access the same day and presenting fun co-op action.

Then on October 27th, horror fans can check out Poppy Playtime: Chapter 2, Tales of Arise – Beyond the Dawn Edition and Monster Energy Supercross 25 – The Official Video Game. However, Premium fans arguably lucked out this month because they’ll get to play Dino Crisis 2 on PS4 and PS5. No, Capcom still hasn’t announced a revival, but for those who enjoy more action-packed survival horror, it’s still a top pick.

If that wasn’t enough retro goodness, there’s RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 Complete Edition. Granted, it launched in 2020, but it’s based on the 2004 classic and remains one of the series’ better entries. With 300 coasters and rides, 1080p and widescreen support, and both expansion packs, it may scratch that theme park management itch.

As the most recent entry in the series, it offers the latest iteration of the narrative-focused Braking Point campaign. And if the drama isn’t your thing, you can dive into My Team 2.0 or venture into F1 World for co-op driving. If you’re wondering why Codemasters hasn’t released a 2026 sequel, it’s because it opted for a paid seasonal update instead. This included the FIA’s new regulations, two new teams (Audi and Cadillac), and a new track, Madring.

Then there’s Hunt: Showdown 1896, a PvEvP extraction shooter where you hunt down bounties and fight off other players to escape. The grisly setting attracted more than its fair share of dedicated players, and while it’s been around since 2019, the 1896 update overhauled the engine and added a new map.

Finally, there’s the most curious of the bunch, Earth Defense Force: World Brothers 2. Playable on PS4 and PS5, it’s a spin-off of the shooter series where over 100 characters from previous entries cross over. There’s also a voxel art style, which certainly lends a new air to the proceedings.

WWE 2K26 will also be available the same day. It features a new Showcase focusing on CM Punk and his rivalries throughout history, along with the return of three classic match types: 3 Stages of Hell, Inferno, and I Quit. Other titles include Ball x Pit and Slitterhead, both available on September 22nd.

Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, The Game Bakers’ acclaimed new entry in Team Ninja’s side-scrolling series, goes live on September 29th alongside Dungeons of Hinterberg and Sniper Elite: Resistance. Premium subscribers get to play Mega Man X Command Mission, an RPG spin-off of the run-and-gun side-scrolling series with new characters like Axl.

Metro Redux will also be available for PS4 and includes Metro 2033 Redux and Metro: Last Light Redux. Perfect for those who want to freshen up on the series before playing Metro 2039 when it releases next February. Of course, titles like Dino Crisis 2 are still set to be added to PlayStation Plus Classics catalogue later this year, so stay tuned for updates.

MLB The Show 26 is another attractive option, and brings a level of authenticity to the experience it offers that we were very impressed by last year. Wobbly Life is an absolutely adorable sandbox for those of you looking for a relaxing title to jump into after a long day.

Chained Echoes is a great one for those of you looking for some classic RPG goodness in your gaming lives. It’s a solid story too, taking you all across a war-torn kingdom where magic, mechs, and dragons are waiting to keep you on your toes.

All of the titles listed are going to hit the service on September 1st and will be around all through the month before they leave on October 5, 2026. Of course, the August lineup of games is leaving the store on the 31st, so act quickly if any of those titles interest you.

If you’re confused about why all these titles aren’t available immediately on a set date, PlayStation has begun staggering Game Catalog releases. That doesn’t mean multiple titles can’t launch on the same day, as Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora and Firefighting Simulator: Ignite are available on July 21st for Extra while Premium gets Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy and Fahrenheit from Quantic Dream.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind, Dying Light, Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector, and Snow Bros. Wonderland will also go live simultaneously on July 28th. Overall, it’s not a bad selection, even if it’s not the most critically acclaimed (and doesn’t make the prospect of another Plus price hike any better).

On the bright side, it is a step up from this month’s Essential offerings, which include the widely panned Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (and the more beloved CrossCode). Since Plus and Premium subscribers receive all the benefits of Essential, they have until August 3rd to claim these titles.

The three were asked about the potential for price increases of PlayStation Plus subscriptions. In response, they said that the service already makes use of its tiered subscription service that can help it balance value with cost. They noted that the higher tiers account for around 40 percent of all subscribers to the service.

“PS Plus offers strong value to players, and we continually balance that value against customer cost,” they said. “We are using multiple levers to improve profitability, including pricing, tier mix, and content acquisition efficiency. Higher tiers now account for 40% of subscribers, which reflects strong demand for the service. PS Plus remains a key driver of profitability, and we achieved record-high PS Plus profitability in FY2025.”

In the same Q&A, they had also spoken about needing to expand their server infrastructure to make cloud gaming services available in more markets. When asked about how the costs incurred by the move would be recovered, they said, “We expect to recover the costs associated with investments and operations through revenue generated from PS Plus, which provides the streaming service.”

PlayStation Plus price increases wouldn’t be a new move for Sony. The company has raised the service’s prices in the past. Back in January 2025, Nishino had noted that the service had seen growth despite prices having been raised. At the time, he noted that subscribers were opting for the more expensive tiers.

“Subscribers are increasingly choosing our Premium and Extra tiers, which now represent approximately 38% of total subscribers,” said Nishino.

He went on to discuss the value proposition of a PlayStation Plus subscription. At its most basic, it allows players to access online multiplayer features of many games. Even the most basic tier gives players access to new games on a regular basis. Higher tiers, on the other hand, open up new libraries for players, with the highest tier even including a classic games catalogue featuring titles from PS1 and PS2, among others.

“PlayStation Plus is highly valued by our players and continues to drive engagement,” he said. “We’ve already seen a trend toward the option of higher tiers within our service, as evidenced by the subscriber mix we achieved in FY2024, where approximately 38% of players are now subscribed to PlayStation Plus Premium or Extra tiers.”

Vice president of Global Services at PlayStation, Nick Maguire, had also spoken about how the company plans to further build on the value offered by PlayStation Plus’ Premium and Extra tiers. He also went on to reiterate that engagement with the service has been higher than it was in the past.

The Cross-Gen Bundle is available for PS4 and PS5 subscribers, and includes multiplayer, Zombies and one of the worst FPS campaigns ever created. The latter is surpassed only by Black Ops 7, and while the other modes may seem appealing, you’re unlikely to find too many players online.

There’s also For the King 2, a rogue-lite tabletop-inspired role-playing game with support for up to four-player co-op. It’s not terrible but definitely inferior to the original in almost every way. The only saving grace is CrossCode, Radical Fish’s retro-style action RPG that offers incredible combat, a compelling story and fun exploration. It’s almost enough to make this month’s offerings worthwhile. Almost.

All three titles will be available on July 7th for subscribers across all tiers. PlayStation recently raised the prices on Plus across the board, though – you can learn more here – and is experimenting with staggered releases for its Game Catalogue titles rather than dropping them all at once.

It kicks off with Sonic X Shadow Generations already available. It’s an excellent platformer which sees the titular hedgehog take on Black Doom in a trip through his own past, which we found quite enjoyable. Final Fantasy 16 is next on the list, and we’ve made our thoughts on that one pretty clear when it first came out – decide for yourself when it drops on June 16th. We’re also getting Kingdom Come: Deliverance and Life is Strange: Double Exposure on June 23 for the UK, US, and Japan regions on June 23.

Finally, Black Desert, Blades of Fire, and Farming Simulator 25 are rounding out the rest of the category’s additions, and they’re dropping on June 30. If you’re a Premium subscriber, you’ve also got the cult classic PS2 rhythm title Gitaroo Man to look forward to on June 16 with a global release on the service.

Available on PS5 and PS4, Grounded needs no introduction. It’s Obsidian Entertainment’s Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, mashed with a fun survival crafting gameplay loop. As one of a handful of minuscule teens, players must survive their backyard. Insects manifest in massive ways, and you’ll need to craft armor and weapons from their remains to survive. Thankfully, there’s support for up to four players in co-op, so you can offload some of the base-building work.

Also available on the same platforms is Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2, and if you’ve played a platform fighter like Super Smash Bros. or Rivals of Aether, this should feel familiar. The roster includes SpongeBob SquarePants, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Jimmy Neutron and more. Finally, there’s Warhammer 40,000: Darktide, a PS5 title focused primarily on a squad of Rejects battling through the Hive City of Tertium to eliminate the forces of Chaos.

And if you didn’t redeem it this month, EA Sports FC 26 is available until June 16th. The rest of the line-up must be redeemed by July 6th, though, so grab them when you can.

Well, it seems like Sony’s tweet on the subject didn’t really mention the fact that those hikes were also applicable to the Extra and Premium tiers. Each sees a $2 increase if you’re buying only a month, while it’s a $4 increase for three months. Yearly subscriptions remain unaffected, though, which is probably for the best since an increase might have earned Sony a few more disgruntled customers and strongly worded complaints.

The price increase follows increases in PS5 and PS5 Pro prices, and is sure to further fuel concerns about the PS6’s potential price tag. However, with Marvel’s Wolverine and Grand Theft Auto 6 coming out later this year, Sony still has a lot going for it as far as bringing in new players is concerned. We would have appreciated a better-worded announcement, though, and we’re sure a lot of you feel the same way.

Let’s hope that Sony learns the right lessons from this little snafu, and perhaps spends some time thinking about how its announcements could be interpreted, especially with the next State of Play coming on June 2nd (and apparently featuring other exclusives than Wolverine).