The PlayStation Plus July lineup packs in thrilling firefights, wrestling superstars, intense horror, and martial arts action. Whether your tastes lie with first-person shooters (Call of Duty: Black Ops 4), over the top arcade punch ups (WWE 2K Battlegrounds), third-person survival horror (A Plague Tale: Innocence) or battling your way up global leaderboards (Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown), PlayStation Plus next month has something for you. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, WWE 2K Battlegrounds, and A Plague Tale: Innocence are available to add to your console library starting Tuesday, July 6 until Monday, August 2. And if you missed it last month, Virtua Fighter is available on PlayStation Plus for a second month, and is available to PlayStation Plus members until Monday, August 2.

Let’s take a closer look at each.  

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 | PS4

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 delivers a trio of action-packed multiplayer-modes* for first-person shooter fans. First there’s the series’ iconic multiplayer experience pitting players against each other worldwide. Second, is the fan-favourite Zombies experience, letting you and friends battle the undead. Last but not least is Blackout, an intense large-map mode inspired by battle royale. Blackout brings together characters, locations, weapons and gear from across the series in all-out survival combat – all with a unique Black Ops twist.

WWE 2K Battlegrounds | PS4

The world of WWE is your battleground with over-the-top, arcade action as your favorite WWE Superstars and Legends battle in interactive environments around the world. Play through a new story mode while unlocking unique characters and Battlegrounds. Compete using special abilities and power-ups in match types like Steel Cage, Royal Rumble, and more! Compete in Online Tournaments or stake your claim as King of the Battleground against players from around the world!* Plus, battle it out in local multiplayer and dominate your friends.

A Plague Tale: Innocence | PS5 version only**

The critically acclaimed adventure releases on PS5 with 4K native resolution***, targeted 60 FPS, highly improved visuals, and fast loading – and makes its debut onto PlayStation Plus. Follow the tale of young Amicia and her little brother Hugo, in a heartrending journey through the darkest hours of history. Hunted by Inquisition soldiers and surrounded by unstoppable swarms of rats, Amicia and Hugo will come to know and trust each other. As they struggle to survive against overwhelming odds, they will fight to find purpose in this brutal, unforgiving world.

These three new releases are also joined by Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown, as Sega’s beat’em up enjoys its second month on PlayStation Plus. If you missed it in June, here’s what you need to know:

Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown | PS4

Sega’s iconic one-on-one battler gets remade for a new gen

Helloooo, PlayStation fans! It’s Janet Hsu, localisation director of The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles, here today to talk a little about the localisation of this long-awaited game that I’ve been wanting to share with you for so many years. Never in my wildest dreams did I think we’d have the privilege to bring out such a beautiful, HD version of this title to the PlayStation 4, but here we are! It’s truly been an honour for me.

My guiding philosophy for the localisation of this title was “Authentic, yet Accessible”, and I thought I’d expand on that a little more here. I’ve long thought that unlike medical or legal translation, translating and localising for video games is a sort of art: a balancing act of faithfulness to the literal words of the original text and correctly conveying the intentions behind them in a way that the audience can connect with. This also means each game – or any piece of entertainment media – has its own needs and limitations: What sort of game is it? Action? Adventure? Who is the intended audience and what should they be expected to know going in? etc. As with any form of art, what’s considered “best practices” also changes over time as they are based on contemporary cultural sensibilities. Therefore, the concept of “Authentic, yet Accessible” can mean different things in different contexts.

For example, I was reading an English translation of real life Japanese author Soseki Natsume’s I Am a Cat the other day and I was taken aback by one of its feline characters talking about his owner making “a penny a tail” and having collected “about half a crown” off of his hard work catching rats. But the British English translation I was reading is from 1972 and was primarily for a Western audience with no access to the internet. Therefore, it would seem that back then, even simple things like monetary values were localised to ensure that the reader could more readily grasp a sense of the amount of money being discussed, despite the story’s Japanese setting. And while this is something most translators wouldn’t do nowadays because best practices have changed over time, the funny thing is, even with the slight loss of authenticity, converting Japanese monetary values into British ones has held up remarkably well in one respect as a localisation choice: it made the English translation more accessible to me as a reader in the year 2021 – over 40 years later – because of my familiarity with Victorian monetary values (thanks, period dramas!). Having read Soseki’s original 1905 novel in Japanese as well, I can tell you I had no idea how much 5 sen or 1 yen 50 sen is worth off the top of my head, and neither does the average Japanese person it would seem. To me, this is a case of favouring accessibility over authenticity, which is certainly one way to assign weight to these two opposing elements. These sorts of balancing decisions are made all the time whenever a piece of work is translated, let alone localized.

But I have a feeling that even Soseki himself wouldn’t have minded these sorts of liberties being taken with his work. In fact, there’s a pretty famous story about our favourite moustached cat novelist and his own translation philosophy! In Episode 6 of the Escapades, we have this recounting of the well-known tale.

The jungle is heating up this summer with new Predator: Hunting Grounds updates coming your way! The hottest new arrival is one we know fans have been patiently awaiting… She is finally joining Dutch in the “Choppa”… Alice Braga has lent her voice to bring Isabelle to the game’s world. This new update will not only showcase our ninth DLC since launching last year, but it will also unleash a new playground – the Headquarters Map. That’s right – nine DLC’s and six maps later, IllFonic keeps thinking of ways to challenge players in the jungle.

Our paid DLC pack for this summer re-introduces a fan favorite to the Predator: Hunting Grounds world, and it’s available today. Help us in welcoming 2010’s Predators character Isabelle to the game. A sniper in an elite defense force, Isabelle was selected by the Predator menace as worthy prey to be hunted on an off-world game preserve. One of two survivors in a group of eight specialized killers, she managed to escape and returned to Earth. After joining the OWLF, it was determined that “Izzy” had more confirmed Predator kills than any other human…aside from Dutch.

Now you, too, can harness her immense power as one of the fiercest competitors in the jungle. She not only carries specializations that are tailored to her like sniper, rushdown, scavenger [and more], but she is a real glass cannon. Izzy is a heavy hitter but watch your health; she pairs best with a medic teammate. QA says if you feel like your team is incomplete, she is that missing piece to a well-rounded crew.

Izzy would be lost without her sniper rifle, and lucky for you, she never leaves home without it.  This DLC will get you early access to the NRV-E, AKA the Ultimate Sniper Rifle, is the exact thing you need to pick off Predators and enemies alike (it will be unlockable to all via gameplay by August 2021). What makes this tech so substantial is its Pred Shells that explode on contact. With this rifle, the sharper and steadier you are, the more damage you will do. The further you are from your target, the more destruction you will cause. Think splash damage effect with exploding rounds. They will never see it or you coming.

What fun is a new character without a new playground? This month’s free update is one our team has been working hard to bring you, another map: Headquarters! That’s right; you now have six maps to play through. This is the most complex, spacious, and difficult map yet, and that statement is coming from our QA team!.

Deep in the jungle, atop a large waterfall, the Stargazer fleet built their headquarters, a strong military base to facilitate their proxy wars while trying to draw the Predator to Earth. HQ comprises multiple bases, facility structures, and cabanas that sit atop the most challenging terrains the game has showcased yet.

The Headquarters, at first, will feel

Hey everyone! I’m Pawel Gaida, marketing director at Kluge Interactive, and I’m delighted to share that our game, Synth Riders, is finally coming to PlayStation VR on July 27.

Immerse yourself in our freestyle dance rhythm game with a variety of music and customizable experiences that will keep you on your toes. Let’s dive into what’s coming next month.

Play Video

Synth Riders was conceived in 2017 when our creative director, Abraham Aguero, embarked on a journey to explore the potential of the still-emerging VR technology. Working with programmer Jhean Ceballos they built a prototype based on the idea of “riding” beams of light (we call them “rails”) in time to the music. With tons of positive feedback, this small passion project turned into the development of a full game. Four years later and we are deeply grateful to see the game is feature-rich, offers music from recognizable artists, and gathers a community of fans all over the world.

To this day, feedback from players is our north star. We have kept “following the fun” by refining the core rhythm mechanics of the game: catch the orbs with your hands, follow the rails of long notes, and avoid the walls. Fans of Synth Riders love how the game activates the entire body and makes you dance. Our team is hand-crafting maps for each song with a clear goal in mind – to connect players with the music, make them move to the beat, and make them break a sweat in the process.

Most recently we’ve introduced Experiences – unique, artistically-driven visuals created to match perfectly with songs, providing a special blend of sight, sound, and physical actions. So far we’ve released them for two add-on songs: “Come Out And Play” by The Offspring and “Algorithm” by Muse. 

While bringing the game t

Today I’m thrilled to welcome a new member to the PlayStation Studios family! I have been a fan of Housemarque since the studio’s early days when they introduced Super Stardust HD to PlayStation fans. Housemarque’s recent release of Returnal proves the studio is one with incredible vision, capable of creating memorable new games that resonate with our community. This addition enhances the creative force of PlayStation Studios, and I cannot wait to see what the future holds for Housemarque.

Welcome to the family, Housemarque!

From Ilari Kuittinen, Co-founder and Managing Director, Housemarque:

Hi everyone, I’m Jehanne Rousseau, CEO and lead writer at Spiders, here to give you some tips if you are jumping into GreedFall for the first time, or if you are returning to Teer Fradee to discover a new area full of intrigues in The De Vespe Conspiracy, our brand new expansion releasing on June 30. For those of you on PS5, we’re also releasing GreedFall and GreedFall: Gold Edition – including base game and new expansion – bringing 4K UHD resolution, enhanced performance, and fast loading. The de Vespe Conspiracy is a full story arc with player choice and an epic conclusion, featuring new characters, enemies, gear, and areas to explore. We can’t wait for you to sink your teeth into this brand new journey.

Without further ado, here are seven key things to know for your journey in GreedFall and its DLC.

Play your way

GreedFall is a freeform RPG experience before anything else. Besides your family name, anything is customizable, including your gender, looks, starting talents, and skills. As you venture deeper into the island and its web of quests and storylines, unlock more than 80 skills to combine to create your playstyle. Choose to specialize in weapons for fighting in close combat, magic that is as lethal as it is varied, or even traps to control the battlefield. Your talents also affect the way you engage with the island, be it through diplomacy, crafting or your ability to find treasure in the wild.

Exploration is (still) key

The Island of Teer Fradee is full of wilderness and different environments to explore. Cities, forests, mountains, and now an ancient volcanic land in the DLC, all provide their share of characters, tribes, quests, creatures and intrigues. Don’t be afraid to embrace your adventurer’s spirit and set out in the wild to find equipment, loot, magic upgrades and all kinds of surprises. 

Three’s a party

As you progress in the story, up to five companions will be allowed to join you on your journey. Only two of them, however, can be in your party at once. Choose wisely as each of them has their own archetypal style, links to specific factions, opinions and as a consequence will impact both combat and diplomacy differently. Experiment and work on developing your relationship with them because who knows, early friendships might blossom into something else entirely. Also, find out more about your companions’ lore in hidden documents scattered around the DLC region.

Bonding with Allies

• Better Friendship, Stronger Support: As the bond level with your ally increases, allies will more proactively engage in support actions such as healing and reviving.

Since launching in May 2020, the PlayStation Tournaments Open Series has brought players together from across the globe to compete in and enjoy their favorite competitive games. Players earned respect through hundreds of monthly Open Series Tournaments around the world and found community during hundreds of hours of Open Series broadcasts. We are excited to help even more players elevate their competitive play to the next level as we welcome three new titles to the Open Series in July.