It’s been obvious for some time, but the new, revamped Playstation Plus service makes it official: June 2022 is the month that Sony finally bit the bullet, joined Microsoft, and wholly committed itself to an online and subscription-based games strategy. This is the future of gaming, and it’s now.
We used to purchase video games in physical form. We owned our copies outright, which meant that years later, we could pop them in and play them. But today, we play at the pleasure of the publishing companies, which set up massive servers and often require an online connection to get the full experience. Now, the developers can patch the game and update it in response to customer feedback. And the used game market, operating out of brick-and-mortar stores, is now a shadow of what it once was. The flash sales and deep discounts in digital stores make shopping more convenient and less painful. And when you make the buying process easier, the customers spend more.
In addition to the new-and-improved Playstation Plus, this month also features a new Mario sports title, an interactive horror experience, new DLC for current popular titles, and remastered compilations of established classics. Here is your monthly video game news roundup for June 2022.
Xbox Live Gold Free Games for June 2022
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Xbox One
Aven Colony (June 1-June 30)
You build a space colony. Gather resources, grow infrastructure, and survive the alien creep that threatens to destroy it all.
Project Highrise: Architect’s Edition (June 16-July 15)
Imagine SimCity, but instead of managing an entire city, you zero in on the trials and tribulations of a single high-rise, and the residents and vendors inside.
Xbox 360 (backwards compatible)
Super Meat Boy (June 1-June 15)
You’re a sentient cube of meat on a quest to save your girlfriend, a sentient clump of bandages. It’s a difficult 2D platformer with a gross edge.
Raskulls (June 16-June 30)
This game is part race, part platformer, part puzzle. Find the quickest way through a level, filled with destroyable blocks that hinder your progress.
Playstation Plus Free Games for June 2022
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God of War (June 7)
The soft reboot of the God of War franchise swapped Ancient Greek mythology for Norse mythology. We named it one of our games of the year in 2018.
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl (June 7)
It’s a Super Smash-style game, but with all your favorite Nickelodeon stars. Ren and Stimpy versus the Ninja Turtles? Garfield vs. Korra? It’s all possible.
Naruto To Baruto (June 7)
Lead a team of four ninjas, and take down other teams in competitive multiplayer gameplay.
Google Stadia Free Games for June 2022
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Deliver Us The Moon (June 1)
Play as an astronaut and go on a moon expedition that could affect the fate of humanity.
Lake (June 1)
This is a life simulator where you play as Meredith, who returns home to her lakeside childhood town.
Other Games (June 1)
Deathrun TV, Through the Darkest of Times, Golf with Your Friends, TOHU, Ben 10: Power Trip
Amazon Prime Gaming for June 2022
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Far Cry 4 (June 1)
Replete with the franchise’s signature dark themes, survival gameplay, and obsessive attention to detail, Far Cry 4 puts you in the middle of a civil war in the fictional country of Kryat.
Escape from Monkey Island (June 1)
A LucasArts classic, this is a pirate adventure with lots of puzzle solving, comedy, and heart
Other Games (June 1)
Across the Grooves, Astrologaster, Calico, WRC 8 FIA World Rally Championship
Tour De France 2022 (June 9)
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Over 2,000 miles in length and nearly a month long, the annual Tour De France starts next month in Copenhagen, Denmark, July 1. But the accompanying video game comes out this month and features an online challenge mode, a “Freshness” feature that forces you to manage your Stamina and Resistance, and new obstacles such as illness and injury, which plague your journey to the yellow jersey.
Mario Strikers: Battle League (June 10)
If you were into Mario Super Sluggers and Mario Golf: Super Rush, this should be a first-day buy. This is full-contact soccer with a Mario twist, which means you have to watch out for tackling opponents, rogue green shells, and the new, game-altering Hyper Strikes, which could turn the match’s tide in your favor. In Mario games, the underdog can always make a comeback.
The Quarry (June 10)
This is a horror game from the same folks who brought us Until Dawn. And like that game, it stars a group of teenagers who must survive the night in an isolated, deadly location. The team upped the tension, reduced the cheap jump scares, and wrote a 1,000 page, branching script that allows for 186 different endings.
All-New Playstation Plus (June 15)
The Playstation Plus service and Playstation Now services will be combined into a single service this month. It will break down into three priced tiers:
PS Plus Essential: This will be like the current Playstation Plus subscription. You’ll get 2-3 free games per month, online multiplayer access, and cloud storage. This is $59.99 per year.
PS Plus Extra: This will be everything in the Essential package, plus a huge selection of downloadable PS4 and PS5 games. The service will eventually have a library of close to 400 games. This is $99.99 per year.
PS Plus Premium: This is everything in the Essential and Extra packages, plus a wide selection of PS1, PS2, PS3, and PSP games, and 2-hour game trials of newly released titles. This is $119.99 per year.
Below are the announced games for the Extra and Premium services, with more to be announced in the days and weeks ahead.
PS5 Games
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
Control: Ultimate Edition
Death Stranding Director’s Cut
Demon’s Souls
Destruction AllStars
Ghost Of Tsushima Director’s Cut
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
Mortal Kombat 11
NBA 2K22
Returnal
The Artful Escape
PS4 Games
Batman: Arkham Knight
Bioshock Remastered
Borderlands The Handsome Collection
Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition
Celeste
Cities: Skylines
Control: Ultimate Edition
Dead Cells
Far Cry 3 Remaster
Far Cry 4
Final Fantasy XV Royal Edition
For Honor
Hollow Knight
Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning
LEGO Harry Potter Collection
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
Mortal Kombat 11
Narutoshippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4
NBA 2K22
Outer Wilds
Red Dead Redemption 2
Resident Evil
Soulcalibur VI
South Park: The Fractured but Whole
The Artful Escape
The Crew 2
Tom Clancy’s The Division
Sonic Origins (June 23)
The first four classic Sonic the Hedgehog games–Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (& Knuckles), and Sonic the Hedgehog CD–are relaunching as a slick, remastered package, with extra challenges, updated music, and an unlimited lives option if you want to take it easy.
Capcom Fighting Collection (June 24)
This is a compilation of Capcom fighting games, and includes all five Darkstalkers arcade games. It comes with Hyper Street Fighter II, which allows you to play all five versions of the arcade classic—from the first game featuring the original eight World Warriors, to the final iteration featuring the New Challengers and Akuma. The ten games in the collection are listed below.
Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors
Night Warriors: Darkstalkers’ Revenge
Vampire Savior: The Lord of Vampire
Vampire Hunter 2: Darkstalkers’ Revenge
Vampire Savior 2: The Lord of Vampire
Cyberbots: Fullmetal Madness
Hyper Street Fighter II
Red Earth
Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix
Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo
Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes (June 24)
Three years ago, we named Fire Emblem: Three Houses as one of the best games of 2019. Now, three years later, we have Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes. It takes place in the same universe with the same characters, but it trades in the original turn-based strategy for hack ‘n’ slash combat. Like in Three Houses, the new game features three branching narrative paths, each with a set of unique characters. Will you side with the Black Eagles, the Blue Lions, or the Golden Deer? The decision is yours.
WWE 2K22 DLC (June 7, June 28)
WWE 2K22 is a success. Most wrestling fans have praised it as a return to form, with a revamped fighting system and realistic renderings of the WWE Superstars. 2K will release two add-on DLC packs of characters in June, which include Stacey Keibler, Doink the Clown, Ronda Rousey, and more. The full contents of each pack are listed below.
Stand Back Pack (June 7)
Hurricane Helms
Stacy Keibler
A-Kid
Wes Lee
Clowning Around Pack (June 28)
Doink the Clown
Ronda Rousey
The British Bulldog
Mr. T
Doudrop
Rick Boogs
Cuphead DLC (June 30)
Cuphead is one of the prettiest, most difficult games of the past decade, renowned for its old school, 1930’s animation style. It is getting a final DLC add-on called “The Delicious Last Course,” featuring a new character, new weapons, and new technicolor bosses.
DNF Duel (TBD)
Dungeon & Fighter started as an RPG, but now it’s going to be a beautifully rendered fighting game, with online ranked play and 16 characters to choose from. It doesn’t have the hype and high budget marketing campaign of its competitors, but the open beta looks very promising.
