During last week's State of Play livestream, Sony confirmed the melee-centric battle royale game Hunter's Arena: Legends will be coming to PS4 and PS5 next month and will debut as a free PlayStation Plus game throughout August. Just like the launch of Destruction AllStars back in February, Hunter's Arena is the kind of live-service game that needs to establish a strong player base quickly, and releasing on PS Plus is a great way to help build an audience. However, it's not going to be everyone's cup of tea, and it needs to be accompanied by some high-quality AAA blockbusters to make the month really stand out.
Sony has done a fantastic job at selling players on why PlayStation Plus is important since the launch of PlayStation 5, and it's very important they keep that momentum going throughout the rest of the summer while new game releases are minimal. The official announcement of next month's lineup is only two weeks away so here's our complete PS Plus free games wish list for August 2021.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 - Campaign Remastered
When Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare released in late 2016, it was released with a pack-in remaster of one of the most influential video games of all time, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Three years later, Activision released Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - Campaign Remastered, a remastered version of the singleplayer, while excluding the sequels iconic multiplayer and cooperative modes. It's long been rumored that Modern Warfare 3 - Campaign Remastered was developed around the same time, and Activision has allegedly been sitting on the game until the right time - which many believe will be before the end of 2021.
Back in May, well-known Call of Duty leaker TheMW2Ghost made the claim that Modern Warfare 3 - Campaign Remastered "is "definitely coming this year," and that it will be exclusive to PlayStation consoles for the first month. Combined with rumors of a larger State of Play on the horizon that was delayed due to a deal with Activision and Call of Duty, and the fact that Modern Warfare 2 - Campaign Remastered was also exclusive to PlayStation for one month and released on PS Plus three months later, and this is a wishlist game that could very much be a possibility before the summer is over.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 - Campaign Remastered is rumored for release on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
No Man's Sky
The comeback story of No Mans Sky is one of the most talked-about and referenced transformations in video game history, and is used as the shining example of what struggling live-service games like Fallout 76 or Anthem could get to with enough investment and dedication. No Man's Sky' continued success in recent years is owed not just to Hello Games consistently supporting the game and releasing over a dozen game-changing updates. The studio has ultimately gone above and beyond every promise it made about the game in the first place.
In 2021, No Man's Sky is a must-play experience for any hardcore gamer and it's incredibly surprising it was never been released on PS Plus considering it was once a PlayStation 4 exclusive. In the recent Prisms update, Hello Games released a complete visual overhaul of the game's graphics with volumetric lighting, improved rain effects, rendering for fur on creatures in the wild, an improved photo mode, and the ability to domesticate flying creatures as pets, alongside other quality of life and visual improvements. No Man's Sky is the perfect game to release during downtime in the summer before players are flooded with AAA releases for the rest of the year.
No Man's Sky is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
John Wick Hex
Developed by Bithell Games (Thomas Was Alone, The Solitaire Conspiracy), John Wick Hex is a neo-noir action strategy game where the players are given a look into the world of John Wick and the Continental before the events of the films. Starring award-winning voice actor Troy Baker (The Last of Us: Part II, Death Stranding) in the role of the villain, with Ian McShane and Lance Reddick reprising their roles as Winston and Charon respectively, John Wick Hex is a worthy entry to the series and a great strategy game. The worldwide release of John Wick: Chapter 4 isn't until May 2022, so here's a game to help fill the void in the meantime.
John Wick Hex is available now for PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.
Don't Forget To Pick Up The July Monthly Games
Next month's PlayStation Plus lineup of free games is likely to be announced in the final week of July, and will be made available to active subscribers starting from Tuesday, August 3. For subscribers that haven't picked up any of the free games for the month of July, there's plenty of time left to download Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, WWE 2K Battlegrounds and Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown on PlayStation 4, and A Plague Tale: Innocence on PlayStation 5.
PlayStation Plus members receive a selection of free games on the first Tuesday of every month.