Sony Interactive has confirmed the PlayStation Plus Essential free games for July 2026. Subscribers can claim three titles starting Tuesday, July 7: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, For the King 2, and CrossCode.
The headliner: back with Task Force 141
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III is the 2023 entry in Activision's annual FPS machine, and it arrives on PS Plus at a genuinely interesting moment. With Modern Warfare 4 on the horizon and confirmed to not be coming to Xbox Game Pass at launch, Sony landing MW3 as a free monthly title feels less like coincidence and more like a calculated warm-up act.
Here's the thing: MW3's campaign took a beating from players and critics alike when it launched, largely because the game started life as an expansion for Modern Warfare II before being promoted to a full release. The story, which follows Task Force 141 trying to prevent World War III, felt thin as a result. But the multiplayer? That held up. MW3 brought back 16 remastered maps from the original 2011 game on day one, which gave the competitive scene a nostalgic jolt that kept lobbies busy well into its lifecycle.
The game also includes a Zombies mode built in the open-world Warzone style rather than the traditional round-based format. It divided the community at launch, but for players jumping in fresh through PS Plus, it's a solid extra mode to dig into before MW4 drops.
Two more games worth your time
For the King 2 is the kind of co-op game that sneaks up on you. It blends roguelike structure with tabletop RPG mechanics across a 30-hour campaign split into seven adventures, all built around stopping an oppressive queen and her regime. The sequel adds a battle grid system that makes positioning matter in ways the first game never demanded. Up to four players can tackle it together, which makes it a strong pick if you have friends on PS Plus.
CrossCode is the wildcard of the three. A retro action RPG with SNES-era visuals, it packs over 120 enemy types, seven massive dungeons, and more than 100 quests into a single package that can run anywhere from 30 to 80 hours depending on how deep you go. It has earned over 10,000 "very positive" reviews on Steam, which puts it in rare company for an indie title of its age. The combat moves fast and the dungeon design draws clear comparisons to classic Zelda, but the sci-fi setting gives it its own identity.
What PS Plus Essential actually costs right now
PS Plus Essential is Sony's entry-level subscription tier, covering online multiplayer, monthly free games for PS4 and PS5, cloud saves, and PlayStation Store discounts. Following a price increase in May, the current rates are:
The July lineup goes live July 7. If you're planning to spend time with MW3's multiplayer before Modern Warfare 4 arrives, brushing up with the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare guides is a smart move to get your mechanics sharp again. For broader prep across shooter games heading into the second half of the year, there's plenty more to work through.
