PS Plus Essential July 2023 games confirmed with Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War

The PS Plus Essential Games for July 2023 have leaked, and there’s a rather amusing inclusion of a recent Call of Duty game, what with the ongoing saga surrounding Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

Update: This has now been confirmed by the PlayStation Blog.

What are the PS Plus July 2023 games?

We’re back to PS Plus games leaking ahead of time, with the ever-reliable billbil-kun on French deals site Dealabs revealing this months trio of games that are included for all PS Plus Essential, Extra & Premium subscribers.

Set to go live on Tuesday 4th July, the three games are:

• Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War (PS5 | PS4)
• Alan Wake Remastered (PS5 | PS4)
• Endling – Extinction is Forever (PS5 | PS4)

Despite all the endless speculation over the future of Call of Duty on PlayStation consoles, Sony and Activision Blizzard are teaming up to put the 2020 game Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War in PS Plus Essential for this coming month. Returning to one of the most popular settings from the series’ past and with fan favourite characters returning, it’s another Call of Duty romp through the Cold War, but did it hit the same highs of Treyarch’s earlier games? And how does the multiplayer stack up?

In our review, Nick said, “Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is a decent entry in the series, but it feels like it doesn’t quite know what it wants to be. The campaign is full of underused ideas, while the multiplayer misses some of the magical charm of Modern Warfare, opting for faster paced aggressive battles which just don’t feel as satisfying. While still enjoyable, Black Ops Cold War fails to recapture the magic of Black Ops 1 and 2.”

Alongside that, the inclusion of Alan Wake Remastered is very well timed, given the build up to Alan Wake 2’s release later this year. The classic action horror game was remastered back in 2021, giving its a fresh lick of graphical paint along the way. Alan Wake 2 is coming to PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC on 17th October, so you’ve got a few months to catch up or refresh your memory.

Lastly, we have the indie title Endling – Extinction is Forever, which follows a mother fox trying to look out for her cubs in a dying world. It’s “a poignant piece of emotive short-form storytelling, telling a tale of survival that isn’t just a conversation starter, but one that asks for immediate change.”

Can I still get the June 2023 PlayStation Plus games?

Of course you can! The PlayStation Plus games for June 2023 are available right up until July 4th, and include the following trio:

• NBA 2K23 (PS4|PS5)
• Jurassic World Evolution 2 (PS4|PS5)
• Trek to Yomi (PS5|PS4)

What’s the deal with PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium?

The PlayStation Plus relaunch took place back in the middle of 2022, transforming the PS Plus we once knew into a three tiered subscription service that bundles in and expands what was once PlayStation Now. The classic PS Plus is now called PS Plus Essential, giving access to online multiplayer gaming, cloud save backups, exclusive offers and at least 2 free monthly games. PS Plus Extra then adds a catalogue of PS4 and PS5 games into the mix, while PS Plus Deluxe and Premium (depending on your region) adds older PS2, PS1 and PSP game emulation, and game streaming for PS3 and other titles.