New PS Plus Games July 2026: Every Essential, Extra & Premium Title
Original illustration by GameVexo
PS Plus games for July 2026 are here, and it’s a genuinely stacked month. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III headlines the free Essential lineup, while PS Plus Extra picks up two open-world heavy hitters in Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora and Rise of the Ronin.
Whether you’re on Essential, Extra, or Premium, this guide breaks down exactly what’s new, when each game unlocks in your region, and what’s about to disappear from the catalog — so you don’t miss anything before the next rotation.
Every game below is ranked by how much value it adds to your subscription right now — a mix of how new it is to the catalog, its critical reputation, and how well it fits the “worth playing today” test. Essential titles are free for everyone; Extra and Premium titles require the higher subscription tiers. Here’s the full July 2026 lineup, starting with the games you can claim this week.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III
First-Person ShooterThis is the big one for PS Plus Essential subscribers this month. The campaign sends Captain Price and Task Force 141 after ultranationalist war criminal Vladimir Makarov, while multiplayer brings back 16 remastered maps from the original 2009 Modern Warfare 2. There’s also a co-op Zombies mode set on the largest map the series has done.
✓ Why We Love It
- Huge amount of content: campaign, multiplayer, and open-world Zombies
- Classic Modern Warfare 2 maps return with upgraded visuals
- Free for every PS Plus tier, not just Extra or Premium
✕ Keep In Mind
- The campaign is on the shorter side compared to past entries
- Best experienced online, so a stable connection matters
What sets this month’s freebie apart from a typical Essential drop is scale — you’re getting a full premium shooter with three separate game modes instead of a smaller indie title, making it the easiest pick to install first.
For the King II
Roguelite Tabletop RPGThe sequel to the cult-favorite RPG blends board game presentation with roguelite dungeon crawling. Queen Rosomon has turned on her own people, and it’s up to you — solo or with up to three friends in co-op — to gather a party and take her down across the kingdom of Fahrul.
✓ Why We Love It
- Four-player co-op makes it a great group pick for PS Plus night
- Turn-based, tabletop-style combat is easy to learn
- Refined engine over the original with better pacing
✕ Keep In Mind
- Runs can be punishing if you’re new to roguelites
- Slower pace than the shooters on this list
If your group already has a Sunday co-op night, this is the one to grab — it’s built around party play in a way most Essential games aren’t, and it’s free for the entire month regardless of your subscription tier.
CrossCode
Action RPG / MetroidvaniaCrossCode is a long-time fan favorite that keeps getting rediscovered every time it lands on a subscription service. It mixes 16-bit-style pixel art with genuinely fast, physics-driven combat and puzzle-heavy dungeons, wrapped in a surprisingly deep sci-fi story about a game-within-a-game.
✓ Why We Love It
- Combat feels closer to an action game than a typical RPG
- Dungeon puzzles are clever without feeling like padding
- Long runtime means it’s the best value pick of the three
✕ Keep In Mind
- The opening hours are slower before the combat opens up
- Pixel-art style won’t appeal to everyone
Don’t judge this one by its retro look — the ball-throwing combat system and momentum-based platforming hold up against modern action RPGs, and at 25-plus hours it’s the longest of July’s three Essential games.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora
Open-World Action-AdventureOne of the biggest PS Plus Extra additions this month, this open-world adventure drops you into the bioluminescent jungles of Pandora as a Na’vi raised by humans. Expect a huge world built around exploration, bow-and-arrow combat, and riding creatures across dense alien terrain.
✓ Why We Love It
- Visually one of the most striking worlds on PS5
- Traversal — climbing, gliding, riding — feels genuinely fun
- Great pick for players who want a long, relaxing explore
✕ Keep In Mind
- Story takes a back seat to open-world activities
- Requires PS Plus Extra or Premium, not Essential
Out globally on July 21, this is the pick for anyone who loved the exploration loop in recent Ubisoft open-world games but wants a fresh setting instead of another historical map.
Rise of the Ronin
Open-World Action RPGTeam Ninja’s biggest game to date is now on PS Plus Extra, live already in the US and UK. You carve your own path through the political chaos of 19th-century Japan as a masterless samurai, mixing fast, punishing swordplay with a genuinely large open world to explore on foot or horseback.
✓ Why We Love It
- Combat has the same bite as Team Ninja’s Nioh games
- Historical setting with real events woven into the story
- One of the newest big-budget titles ever added to Extra
✕ Keep In Mind
- Combat difficulty can spike hard for newcomers to the genre
- Regional rollout means some players wait until July 21
This is the standout addition of the month for action RPG fans — getting a game this recent and this large on Extra so soon after its original release is rare, and it’s worth prioritizing before you touch anything else on this list.
More New Arrivals on PS Plus Extra & Premium
Beyond the five games above, five more titles round out the PS Plus Extra catalog this month: Firefighting Simulator: Ignite, a hands-on disaster-response sim; Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind, a retro-styled beat-em-up; Dying Light, the original open-world zombie parkour game; Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector, a narrative sci-fi RPG; and Snow Bros. Wonderland, a co-op arcade platformer. All of them go live July 21 outside the US, UK, and Japan, and July 28 in those three regions.
PS Plus Premium members also get two classics this month: Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy, a 2004 PS2 psychic-powers action game, and Indigo Prophecy, Quantic Dream’s paranormal interactive drama. Both arrive globally on July 21.
If you’re also keeping an eye on new PS5 releases outside the subscription, our guide to Dear Passengers’ release date across Xbox, PS5, and Steam is worth a look, and Xbox owners have their own packed month covered in our complete 2026 Xbox roadmap.
Not everything worth playing this month is on PS Plus, either — tabletop fans should also check our coverage of the Star Trek Magic: The Gathering Commander decks release date if you need something for downtime between game sessions.
Quick Comparison
| Game | Genre | Platform | Best For | Our Pick |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III | FPS | PS5, PS4 | Fans of big blockbuster shooters | #1 Best |
| For the King II | Roguelite RPG | PS5, PS4 | Co-op groups, tabletop fans | #2 Value |
| CrossCode | Action RPG | PS5, PS4 | Retro fans wanting a long adventure | #3 New |
| Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora | Open-World Adventure | PS5 | Exploration and visuals | #4 |
| Rise of the Ronin | Open-World Action RPG | PS5 | Action RPG and combat fans | #5 |
| Firefighting Simulator: Ignite | Simulation | PS5, PS4 | Sim fans wanting something different | Extra |
| Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind | Beat-em-up | PS5, PS4 | Retro arcade nostalgia | Extra |
| Dying Light | Open-World Survival | PS5, PS4 | Zombie parkour fans | Extra |
| Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector | Narrative Sci-Fi RPG | PS5, PS4 | Story-first players | Extra |
| Snow Bros. Wonderland | Arcade Platformer | PS5, PS4 | Local co-op families | Extra |
| Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy | Action (PS2 Classic) | PS5 | Retro Premium subscribers | Premium |
| Indigo Prophecy | Interactive Drama | PS5 | Narrative adventure fans | Premium |