Hello! My name is Michael Frei. I worked on Time Flies, a game where you play as a fly coming July 31st to PlayStation 5! It’s a game you may have seen first revealed on the PlayStation Blog a few years ago, and now it’s finally almost here.

Before you start playing as a fly, we check where the game is played from.

Country selection screen

If you are from Switzerland, your average life expectancy according to the World Health Organization is 83.3 years. In the game, we convert the years to 83.3 seconds (you are a fly after all). The goal is to complete your bucket list before you die. Because life expectancy in the United States is 76.4 years, you get 76.4 seconds when you play from the USA. 

Taking off as a fly

This means that the game will be harder in some places than in others.

A bucket list

But what to do in this world before you die? That is a difficult question to answer. Luckily, the game contains a list of things for you to do. All you need to do is figure out how to do them, and then do them all within one lifetime. It might seem impossible at first, but you can die trying, and eventually you’ll get the hang of it. It is a game about life, but you get many chances.

The challenge of making Time Flies was coming up with things a fly can do. My personal favourite is the “Find God” bucket list item. Here are the steps we went through to design it – without spoilers though, so you can go and Find God yourself!

Early rough sketch of a game controller with a fly on the directional pad

Step 1: Getting ideas

Ok, so you’ve played a million video games. But have you ever played a video game as a fly in a video game? As in, a video game … within a video game? And wouldn’t it be even more meta if you could Find God within that video game? The first idea was a platformer game in which you have to escape hell and reach heaven. But that idea had some issues.

Mockup of a platformer game within the game

Step 2: Understanding limitations

The problem was that you could only trigger one button at a time when playing as a fly. In Time Flies, all your actions are triggered with flight stick controls. You only physically interact with the world by bouncing off, landing or walking on things. There are no t

It’s been such a thrilling time for us here at Naughty Dog, especially as we’ve welcomed so many old and new fans of The Last of Us into the franchise. To celebrate all of your support, we have a surprise in the form of a free update hitting The Last of Us Part II Remastered today!

Available for players as part of a downloadable update today, we’ve introduced a new way to play the story of The Last of Us Part II like never before – chronologically. 

Those who have already played will know its story is told non-linearly, as Ellie and Abby’s motivations, realizations, and emotional stakes unfold across myriad flashbacks and present-day storylines. While this structure is very intentional and core to how our studio wanted Part II’s themes and narrative beats to impact players, we always wondered what it would be like to experience this story chronologically. And now finally, we can answer that question. 

Through the new Chronological mode, we believe players will gain even deeper insight into Part II’s narrative. Players will be able to see how Ellie being gifted a guitar flows so neatly into her learning to play, for example, while the journey through Seattle will showcase the fascinating parallels between Ellie and Abby’s crisscrossing journeys. You’ll see just how close they come into running into each other, how their actions impact each other, and more.

It was no small feat to bring The Last of Us Part II’s story chronologically together, given that Part II’s story is so meticulously put together. We’re grateful to the developers both at Naughty Dog and our partners at Nixxes to make the Chronological mode as smooth as possible. And while we of course recommend players still new to the game to play through Part II’s story as was originally developed, the team’s hard work has paid off with a fascinating new way to enjoy this chapter.

And we also wanted to reward players for jumping into this new, transformative approach to our story. In addition to new trophies tied to completing the narrative experience in chronological order, doing so will also unlock two new, perhaps surprisingly familiar skins…

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We are less than 100 days away from the launch of Ghost of Yōtei on PS5 on October 2! This week, we can’t wait to give you your best look yet at what to expect with a State of Play gameplay deep dive streaming on July 10.

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The Ghost of Yōtei State of Play gameplay deep dive was announced during last month’s State of Play.

Our State of Play features nearly 20 minutes of Ghost of Yōtei gameplay hosted by Sucker Punch’s Creative Directors, Jason Connell and Nate Fox. Beyond sharing more about Atsu’s quest for vengeance, we’re excited to show off her new weapons, new ways to personalize your journey at the edge of Japan, new special modes, and much more.

The Ghost of Yōtei State of Play gameplay deep dive will stream on PlayStation’s Twitch and YouTube channels on July 10 at 2pm PT / 5pm ET / 10pm BST / 11pm CEST.

ILL made quite the splash — or rather, splatter — when the trailer dropped at Summer Game Fest 2025. We saw a first-person horror game packed with guts, frenetic combat, and some heinously grotesque creatures — and we loved every disturbing little detail.

So what kind of twisted minds can make a game like ILL? Ones well-versed in the horror genre. The developers at Team Clout have plenty of experience with horror, including working on several well-known TV and film projects (e.g. Longlegs, V/H/S/Beyond, It: Welcome to Derry), and they’re eager to bring their brand of terror to a new medium. We asked Team Clout founders and incredible artists Maxim Verehin and Oleg Vdovenko to let us pick their brains about ILL.

The unique horror of ILL

As Verehin tells us, ILL is “A story-driven action-horror game with visceral visuals, gruesome moments, interesting inspiration, exploration, and wild ideas — a good mix of survival horror elements and first-person 3D action. We’re working to balance the parts where players are s***ting their pants from fright with parts where players are screaming because they’re enjoying the intense action, shooting mechanics, and dismemberment.” 

Much of the details around the game’s story — which involves a mysterious fort in an Eastern European-like setting overrun by monstrosities — have been kept secret so far. While Verehin intends to keep it that way, he does share some information when we ask. “ILL’s focus is on the personal story of the main protagonist. His story is deeply interconnected with what is happening in the world. Broadly speaking, the world will feel isolated and hopeless. We want players to feel how dark the mood is. I hope the audience will sympathize with the main character and his personal motivations.”

“We want ILL to make you feel like the horror is physically happening to you. Not just psychological tension or scripted scares, but a kind of grounded, body-level discomfort. The main thing that sets us apart is how we combine hyperrealistic body horror with a reactive, tactile world. Enemies don’t just die – they suffer, adapt, mutate. Your actions leave a mark, and the world responds.”

– Max Verehin, Game Director & Co-founder, Team Clout

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Hey, everybody! Kristen and I are back this week to discuss the adventures of making deliveries in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, the range of emotions kindled by Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and some of our favorite PlayStation merch.

Stuff We Talked About

• Next week’s release highlights:
  • EA Sports College Football 26 | PS5
  • Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 | PS5, PS4
  • Patapon 1 + 2 Replay | PS5
• Full Metal Schoolgirl announcement  —  D3Publisher’s new action game, featuring cyborgs taking on an evil corporation. Coming to PS5 on October 23
• Ghost of Yōtei Collector’s Edition announced — It comes with a Ghost mask, sash, tsuba, papercraft ginkgo tree, art cards, and Zeni Hajiki coin game and pouch, along with some digital items to use in-game.

The Cast

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Last week, we asked you to connect in Death Stranding 2: On The Beach, and share moments from Sam’s new journey using #PSshare #PSBlog. Here are this week’s highlights:

Dande_Lion55 shares a detailed close portrait of Sam.

darkalienstar shares a zoomed out shot of Sam atop a mountain, with a massive moon cresting.

calisarah1998 share Sam and Lou balanced on a rock overlooking the landscape.

F1Str4nd shares Sam fighting off being overtaken by BTs.

Milz_VP shares Sam crossing water by walking across a ladder

Boargs shares Sam riding up to a Plate Gate.

Search #PSshare #PSBlog on Twitter or Instagram to see more entries to this week’s theme. Want to be featured in the next Share of the Week?

THEME: Death Stranding 2: On The Beach – Traversal
SUBMIT BY: 11:59 PM PT on July 9, 2025 

Next week, we’re travelling through the world of Death Stranding 2: On The Beach. Share moments walking, driving, riding, and ziplining using #PSshare #PSBlog for a chance to be featured.

It’s time to see which PS5, PS4, PS VR2, and free-to-play games topped last month’s download charts. June saw PS5 players connecting the world in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach and connecting on the pitch in Rematch. Skydance’s Behemoth topped the PS VR2 charts in both the US and EU, and Splitgate 2 debuted at number one in the US for free-to-play.

Check out the full listings below. What titles are you playing this month?

PS5 Games

*Naming of products may differ between regions
*Upgrades not included

PS4 Games

*Naming of products may differ between regions 

PS VR2 Games*<