PS Plus July 2026: Modern Warfare 3, For the King 2 and CrossCode go free

Sony just dropped the PlayStation Plus Essential lineup for July, and the headliner is a big one: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is going free. Alongside it you get For the King 2 and the criminally underrated CrossCode. All three land on July 7 and stick around until August 3, so you've got a few weeks to add them to your library.

Let's be honest, this month splits the room. Some folks will be thrilled, others will shrug. We land somewhere in the middle, and here's why.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

The 2023 reboot-sequel is the obvious draw. It picks up right after the previous Modern Warfare, throwing Captain Price and Task Force 141 back into the hunt for ultranationalist war criminal Vladimir Makarov. The campaign caught flak at launch for feeling short and stitched together, but the multiplayer and the whole Warzone-adjacent package are still a huge amount of content to sink into for zero extra cash. If you skipped it, this is your moment.

For the King 2

This one might be the sleeper hit of the bunch. It's a roguelike tactics game where you drag a ragtag party across the land of Fahrul, rolling dice and praying the RNG gods are kind. The best part? Co-op. You can suffer through the brutal encounters with friends, which is exactly how these games are meant to be played. Grab a buddy who also has PS Plus and go.

CrossCode

And then there's CrossCode, the little action-RPG that could. Gorgeous 16-bit-style pixel art, combat that mixes Zelda-style puzzles with twin-stick shooting, and a story set inside a sci-fi MMO. It flew under the radar for years. If you've never touched it, do yourself a favor. This is the kind of hidden gem PS Plus was made to surface.

So, is it a good month?

Not the flashiest haul we've seen, and a few outlets are calling it a bit lukewarm. But a full Call of Duty, a co-op roguelike and a stone-cold indie darling for one subscription? We'll take it. All three run on both PS5 and PS4, so nobody's left out.

Which one are you claiming first? Drop it in the comments and let us know if Modern Warfare 3 finally pulls you back in.