Welcome back! We’re opening up the ol’ Players’ Choice polls once again, and you’ll have until Monday to get your votes in before we tally them up next week.

June saw the release of delightful new adventures in Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart and the impossibly charming Chicory, plus the return of a long-running 2D fighter in Guilty Gear Strive. There’s also Doki Doki Literature Club Plus… something seems weird about that one, but I’m sure there’s nothing dark or sinister lurking under the surface there.

Which one is getting your vote this month? Let us know in the comments!

How does it work? At the end of every month, PlayStation.Blog will open a poll where you can vote for the best new game released that month. Soon thereafter, we’ll close the polls, tally your votes, and announce the winner at PlayStation.Blog. PlayStation Store will also showcase some top Players’ Choice winners throughout the year.

What is the voting criteria? That’s up to you! If you were only able to recommend one new release to a friend that month, which would it be? In keeping with our long tradition in the Game of the Year Awards, remastered or re-released games won’t qualify. Ambitious, larger-scale rebuilds and remakes like Shadow of the Colossus and Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy will.

How are nominees decided? The PlayStation.Blog and PlayStation Store editorial teams will gather a list of that month’s most noteworthy releases and use it to seed the poll. Write-in votes will be accepted.

What a year it’s been! As we approach the one-year anniversary of Ghost of Tsushima, we are so grateful for the outpouring of love you’ve sent us since launch. It means so much to see how Jin’s story has resonated with all of you, and we feel incredibly lucky to have such dedicated and supportive fans. 

We’ve thought a lot about how to expand Jin’s story, and we’ve also spent the last year poring over all of your feedback about how we could improve the experience of playing Ghost of Tsushima. We’ve been hard at work on a brand new edition of the game, which not only includes a new chapter in Jin’s journey, but also some new updates that are a direct response to some of the community’s most-requested features.

We’re happy to announce that on August 20, we’ll be releasing Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut on both PS5 and PS4 consoles. This new edition comes packed not only with the original game and every piece of additional content we’ve sold to date, but a brand-new adventure for Jin alongside a bunch of new features that we’re excited to reveal.

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Iki Island

If you’re a history buff, you may know that in addition to Tsushima, the neighboring island of Iki was also invaded during this time period. Today we’re excited to reveal that a whole new chapter in Jin’s journey is coming and will take place on Iki. In this new story, Jin travels to the island to investigate rumors of a Mongol presence. But soon, he finds himself caught up in events with deeply personal stakes that will force him to relive some traumatic moments from his past.

We’ll have more to share about the story of Iki soon, but today we can confirm that beyond a whole new story and new characters, this new island also features tons of new content including brand new environments to explore, new armor for Jin as well as his horse, new mini-games, new techniques, new enemy types, and much more. There are even new animals to pet!

What a year it’s been! As we approach the one-year anniversary of Ghost of Tsushima, we are so grateful for the outpouring of love you’ve sent us since launch. It means so much to see how Jin’s story has resonated with all of you, and we feel incredibly lucky to have such dedicated and supportive fans. 

We’ve thought a lot about how to expand Jin’s story, and we’ve also spent the last year poring over all of your feedback about how we could improve the experience of playing Ghost of Tsushima. We’ve been hard at work on a brand new edition of the game, which not only includes a new chapter in Jin’s journey, but also some new updates that are a direct response to some of the community’s most-requested features.

We’re happy to announce that on August 20, we’ll be releasing Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut on both PS5 and PS4 consoles. This new edition comes packed not only with the original game and every piece of additional content we’ve sold to date, but a brand-new adventure for Jin alongside a bunch of new features that we’re excited to reveal.

Play Video

Iki Island

If you’re a history buff, you may know that in addition to Tsushima, the neighboring island of Iki was also invaded during this time period. Today we’re excited to reveal that a whole new chapter in Jin’s journey is coming and will take place on Iki. In this new story, Jin travels to the island to investigate rumors of a Mongol presence. But soon, he finds himself caught up in events with deeply personal stakes that will force him to relive some traumatic moments from his past.

We’ll have more to share about the story of Iki soon, but today we can confirm that beyond a whole new story and new characters, this new island also features tons of new content including brand new environments to explore, new armor for Jin as well as his horse, new mini-games, new techniques, new enemy types, and much more. There are even ne

Bonjour! I am Jordi Asensio, Lead Game Designer on Streets of Rage 4. I worked on the game’s design system, character integration, level design, and game modes. Today I would like to introduce the new Survival mode, as well as the new characters that will be playable in our DLC, Mr. X Nightmare – available on July 15.

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Streets of Rage 4 developers offer an insightful walkthrough of Mr. X Nightmare’s Survival mode in a new episode of PlayStation Underground.

Introducing Streets of Rage 4’s Survival mode

We always wanted a Survival mode for Streets of Rage 4, but we decided to focus on the campaign first so as not to sidetrack production. It was a tough decision, but we knew it was the right one.

With the game released, we could focus on a post-launch expansion. I started poring over previous ideas we had as well as player feedback. I noticed that fans wanted, in addition to new content, new ways to play. So we tackled the challenge on two fronts: gameplay (characters and mechanics) and content (enemies, stages).

I also wanted to use this opportunity to inject a sense of power progression into our core gameplay experience , without overloading players with overelaborate RPG elements that’d negatively impact the game’s rhythm. That’s how the idea to use Perks came in.

We made sure that our first Perks were built on existing gameplay systems. This early batch was pretty simple: increasing the character’s strength, defense, and speed, and giving them weapons. We then added more unusual stuff – elementary effects (fire, thunder, poison). Once we moved forward with this concept, we added new ideas – for example, cursed Perks with both positive and negative effects. We also identified synergies between Perks to create surprising combinations. 

After this came months of testing and balancing.

Estel hits hard.

Facing the simulation

In Streets of Rage 4’s Survival mode, the player uses the remnants of Mister X’s brain to enter a simulation. This simulation produces waves of enemies in trap-filled arenas. After a wave is beaten, you can choose between two Perks that remain active during your entire run.

There’s no selectable difficulty. We instead designed runs around three phases: early, mid, and endgame. To pull this off, we worked diligently on the relationship between the difficulty cur

Beginning next week, Warframe players can battle against their very own high-tech adversary known as the Sisters of Parvos in the new Corpus Lich system, help the new Warframe Yareli save the Ventkids of Fortuna, and collect an expansive amount of new loot in the upcoming Sisters of Parvos game update. Coming to PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 on July 6.

Here’s a quick preview of what we’ve been up to and some of the new content being released with this game update: 

• New accessible water-bending Warframe Yareli
• New in-game comic-book quest with K-Drive Challenges
• New Corpus Lich System with boss battles and rewards

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Confront the Sisters of Parvos as a new water-bending Warframe

In Warframe’s next game update, we’ll be extending the storyline of the greedy Parvos Granum and his latest creations, the Sisters of Parvos.  Following her introduction in our most recent game update, Call of the Tempestarii, the new adversary, Vala, will return with the “sisters Parvos never had” as well as their new mechanized Hounds.  Sisters can be encountered through our new Corpus Lich System which will include boss battles and rewards.  Additionally, with the aggressive Corpus expansion led by Parvos, players will be called upon to return to the open-world hub of Fortuna and complete challenges across the Orb Vallis to protect the vulnerable Ventkids and earn the latest Warframe, Yareli.  

The new wave-riding, orphan-saving, comic hero of Fortuna, Yareli

Beginning next week players will be able to unlock Yareli, the 47th Warframe we’ve released and one of our most accessible yet.  Yareli is legendary in Fortuna for her selfless heroism against the oppressive Corpus regime.  She strikes fear into those who oppress using an arsenal of graceful – yet powerful – aquatic Abilities.  With Yareli, players can wield the powers of water to create blades of ice, powerful geysers and even an aqua board to traverse the battlefield.

New players will enjoy the fast, fun, cooperative action of Warframe as they level-up and progress towards unlocking Fortuna, so they too can quickly earn Yareli.  Active players will return to the Or

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.

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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: