PlayStation Plus Essential Free Games For July 2023 Now Available

July 2023's lineup of PlayStation Plus Essential games are now available for download. Following a leak and subsequent confirmation of the three included games--Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, Alan Wake Remastered, and Endling - Extinction is Forever--you can now head to the PlayStation Store to grab the PS Plus freebies. [Update: These games are available for a short time longer, but we now also know what PS Plus games are coming in August 2023.]

Alan Wake Remastered is particularly timely, as Alan Wake II is set to launch October 17 for PlayStation, Xbox, and PC. If you've never played the original game, the 2021 remaster is definitely worth checking out. The action-adventure follows the eponymous thriller novelist's search for his missing wife while on vacation in a curious little town. Though the original game only dabbles with horror, the sequel looks like a straight-up horror game. Both the PS5 and PS4 versions of Alan Wake Remastered will be up for grabs.

PS Plus subscribers will also be able to check out Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, the 2020 entry in the first-person shooter franchise. Cold War is the latest iteration of the Black Ops sub-series from Treyarch and Raven Software. Its campaign is (unsurprisingly) set during the 1980s, and it has a full online multiplayer suite as well as Zombies mode. The freebie will be the Cross-Gen bundle, which means the PS5 and PS4 versions are included.

The final free game for July isn't as well-known as the other two, but it has a great reputation. Endling - Extinction is Forever places you in the role of the last mother fox in the world. Your job is to avoid extinction in a harsh environment. Endling released last summer and currently holds an "Overwhelmingly Positive" user rating average on Steam. The art style is absolutely gorgeous, and you won't have to invest too much time to complete it. The adventure has a runtime of around five hours.

All PlayStation Plus subscribers, regardless of tier, will be able to claim the free games for July.