Easy Come Easy Go. It’s time for the monthly PlayStation catalog refresh, and along with the addition of new games for the PS Plus Extra and Premium tiers, Sony has confirmed nine games that will soon be leaving subscribers’ libraries. This is a very large removal, as five of these games were originally scheduled to leave the service in July, but Sony extended their stay until August. Call it a summer miracle.
The following games will disappear from the PS Plus Extra and Premium catalog on August 18 (the first five were supposed to be removed in July):
- Bomber
- Clash: Artifacts of Chaos
- Onee Chanbara Origin
- Deadlines
- Space Crew: Legendary Edition
- Dead Island 2
- Earth Defense Force 6
- Harold Halibut
- Unicorn Overlord
PS Plus Extra and Premium subscribers have until August 18th to get the most out of these games or just buy them outright. Well, just as much as you can buy any game in a digital world governed by DRM and obvious corporate control.
From July 21, the digital catalog of PS Plus Extra and Premium will be replenished. Avatar: Pandora’s Frontiers, Rise of the Ronin, Firefighting Simulator: Ignite, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rewind Rita, Dying light, Citizen Sleeper 2: Star Vector And Snow Brothers Wonderlandand Premium subscribers also get access to Psy-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy And Indigo Prophecy.
There are several fireworks shows on the outgoing and incoming catalogues, and we wholeheartedly recommend visiting them. Dead Island 2, Harold Halibut, Dying light And Citizen Sleeper 2.
Please note that this is a separate release from the monthly games that PS Plus Essential, Extra and Premium members can download from the PlayStation Store and keep for as long as their membership remains active. Current batch, available from July 7 to August 3, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, For King II And Crosscode.
If all those subscription levels and digital catalog restrictions are giving you a headache, be sure to stock up on painkillers before the next generation of consoles launch. This summer, Sony announced it would stop making disc-based games in 2028, all but confirming that its next console, the PS6, won’t support physical media at all. Meanwhile, Xbox is similarly developing its online and cloud market, and even Nintendo is promoting digital purchases at comparatively lower prices and game key cards that require an Internet connection to initially download. Valve has entered the home computing market with SteamOS-based PCs, and the market for portable digital devices is strong. Subscriptions and licensing agreements are the present and future of video games, for better or worse.