When you wake up, it’s the day of the Blood Mass for Laslea. Tonight, the vampires, the vrakhiri, will arrive to collect the oblation of their livestock. Every adult in the village must attend and give of their blood to sustain their rulers, Brencis and his clique. It is known. It is normal. Shockingly, it’s becoming more normal every day as the hope of change or salvation withers among the people of Vale Sangora.

Not everyone is cut out for this new normal. Your mother is barely able to hold herself upright under the weight of her fear. Your father, pulled in two directions by his family and his past, has become grim and hard. Your siblings are struggling to understand everything happening around them. And you, Coen, a young man in your prime, are stuck staring down a long future of being bled every fortnight, little hope for anything other than the life of cattle.

Is it any wonder some say it’s the end of the world?

And yet, the daily concerns of life must go on. Your mother is in no condition to attend the Blood Mass tonight and if she is not present, your family and maybe the entire village will suffer. The gates are guarded by Knyaz Brencis’s men – no one will be permitted to leave until the offering is extracted. Between dawn and sunset, the day is divided into 8 parts. You must use that time to find a solution.

So, you wander the sunny dirt paths of Laslea. Somehow, in spite of the clamp of the vrakhiri around your neck, even in this tiny village, the possibilities are endless. You could decide to go directly to Anca, the local herbalist, and ask for medicine for your mother and wind up spending most of the day reading Latin, soaking up every moment you can in her presence.

You could punch one of the Uriash, gigantic ram-like warriors occupying the village at Brencis’ command in an attempt to burst the boils of rage festering in your heart. You could go looking for an escaped pig or a lost neighbor, you could save the weaver by searching for a stolen tapestry commissioned by the vrakhiri, you could beat an upstart boy for insulting you, you could even uncover the start of a revolution against the vampires… but you may not be able to do it all.

You see, as long as you are wandering, watching, listening, never intervening, the sun will stay high in the sky. The Blood Mass will not arrive. The day will never turn to night.

To move time forward, you will have to choose. So you wander. You speak to an old woman weeping by an unearthed grave. You confront the man who lurks by the river. You ask your sister about the dark dreams that jolt you awake at night. You practice your sword skills on the animals in the woods. And, in your own time, you choose how your day unfolds.

Yet it is quickly made clear to you that some choices are out of your hands. There is no combination of actions and words at Coen’s disposal that can stop the Blood Mass once the sun sets. Some events have their own tides that cannot be resisted. Everyone has their own free will and no matter how earnestly you try, you can’t control the power of grief, of fear, of revenge.

The Blood Mass goes poorly. Decisions are made by you and your family that cannot be taken back, and deep in the night, you wake up in the bowels of Laslea’s silver mine with a strange new hunger. You are no longer fully human.

The wrath of the vrakhiri at the defiance of Laslea has chosen you as its scion.

Brencis picked you to turn into one of his own, a familiar face to destroy your friends and neighbors as one more twist of the knife. The surviving villagers, including your father, mother, and siblings, will be made a sacrifice to his coronation in 30 days. Your family has been crammed into the darkness of a cell, your existence squeezed down into the palm of Brencis’ hand.

And yet. As the village burns, as the sun rises, you are given a new choice. All is not lost. The light of the sun does not burn you, sear your flesh. Not even the vrakhiri could control this. In that moment, the world opens up, the shackles fall away. For you now have all the power and ferocity of a vampire, but all the feelings and connections of a human. You have something denied to you for so long: the ability to choose.

As you step out of the remains of your home, your village, the whole of Vale Sangora lays before you. There is a sword at your side. Your arm still aches from the magic runes Anca carved into your skin. The taste of copper lingers in the back of your throat.

You realize that, with enough blood and rage, you could rip this valley from the vrakhiri’s claws and feast upon its riches yourself. You could join the revolution, save your family and dispose of the vrakhiri. You could wash your hands of the entire affair and pursue whatever pleasures the next moment offers you.

You are a unique thing, Dawnwalker, and no one will ever write a future quite like yours. A new day is beginning; how will you spend it?

The Blood of Dawnwalker rises on PlayStation 5 this September 3, 2026.

Check out the full listings below. What titles are you playing this month?

PS5 Games

*Naming of products may differ between regions
*Upgrades not included

PS4 Games

*Naming of products may differ between regions

PS VR2 Games*

*PlayStation Store purchases only. Game upgrades or games bundled with hardware not included

Free to Play (PS5 + PS4)

call_me_xavii shares Sam taking in spinning fireworks in Death Stranding 2: On The Beach

JAA_PhMode_0510 shares some use of spark bokeh in Cyberpunk 2077

Couch_Gamer2k23 shares Arjun dodging blue orbs and sparks in Saros

RhodWulfLeon shares Cal surrounded by sparks as he fights in Star Wars Jedi Survivor

Taser9001 shares Cloud fighting a mech surrounded by sparks in Final Fantasy VII Remake

4mllr shares Stacy and the gang taking in fireworks in Mixtape

Search #PSshare #PSBlog on Twitter or Instagram to see more entries to this week’s theme, or be inspired by other great games featuring Photo Mode. Want to be featured in the next Share of the Week?

THEME: Portraits
SUBMIT BY: 11:59 PM PT on July 8, 2026 

Next week, zoom in on your favorite characters and share detailed portraits from the game of your choice. Use #PSshare #PSBlog for a chance to be featured.

Check out the full listings below. What titles are you playing this month?

PS5 Games

*Naming of products may differ between regions
*Upgrades not included

PS4 Games

*Naming of products may differ between regions

PS VR2 Games*

*PlayStation Store purchases only. Game upgrades or games bundled with hardware not included

Free to Play (PS5 + PS4)

What games have you been playing this month so far? Share predictions on July’s winner in the comments below.

Last month was filled with fighting, sports, and adventure! Some big new releases included The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales, Dead or Alive 6 Last Round, and NBA The Run. Which game was your favorite?
  

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. After the polls close we will tally your votes, and announce the winner on our social channels and PlayStation.Blog.

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? Note: re-released games don’t qualify, but remakes do. We define remakes as ambitious, larger-scale rebuilds such as Resident Evil 4 (2023) and Final Fantasy VII Remake.

How are nominees decided? The PlayStation Blog editorial team will gather a list of that month’s most noteworthy releases and use it to seed the poll.

Dune: Awakening is an open world survival game set on the most legendary planet in the universe: Arrakis. Rise from survival to greatness, as you explore, build, craft, and unravel a cinematic Dune story that asks the mind-bending question: what if Paul Atreides was never born?

Dune: Awakening has been available on PC since last year, and during that time we’ve added a ton of content and enhanced core gameplay systems. The game is better than ever, and with its debut on PlayStation 5, we’re adding even more including a full single-player mode.

PlayStation gamers will be treated to the best version of Dune: Awakening yet. All the enhancements and additions that we’ve been working on for the past year will be on PlayStation day one.

We’ve put together a Developer Deep Dive video exploring what’s coming in the PlayStation 5 version of the game. Check it out:

Play Video

Optimized for PlayStation 5

The team has spent a lot of time and effort making sure the experience on PlayStation 5 is the best it can be. UI and controls have been tailored to the console experience, and we’ve put a lot of focus on making sure the game is highly optimized for both PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 Pro.

On the base PlayStation 5, Performance Mode will run at 60fps with frame-gen. On PlayStation 5 Pro, Performance Mode runs at 60fps without frame-gen. Quality Mode will run at 30fps on both systems. The game runs in upscaled 4K on both PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 Pro, in both Performance and Quality Mode. We’ll provide more specific technical details as we get closer to launch, including an overview of native resolutions.

Survival games generally have a reputation for being complex and challenging to learn. With Dune: Awakening, our design philosophy from day one has been to make it a more accessible survival experience.

Not less challenging, but less challenging to learn. We’ve implemented systems that teach you the game and ease you into its core elements, and there is also a strong narrative thread that guides you through the journey from survivalist to hero instead of just dropping you in the middle of a literal sandbox.

To put it like this: if you’re skeptical about survival games, Dune: Awakening is a great portal for you into the genre!

Single-player mode: a game changer

The biggest new addition PlayStation 5 gamers can look forward to is the single-player mode. Right now, on PC, the game is exclusively multiplayer and single-player mode is by far one of the top-requested features.

Making an inherently multiplayer game work in full single-player has not been an easy task. The team has spent months making sure the experience translates well. It’s not just removing multiplayer functionality; every aspect of the game needs to make sense in a single-player format.

For example, in multiplayer, the endgame in Dune: Awakening is built around players competing over specific objectives to make sure their faction – House Atreides or House Harkonnen – gains control over the Landsraad. Controlling the Landsraad gives them the ability to make decisions that can impact gameplay for everyone across the server. In single-player, instead of removing or downscaling this part of the game, we’re instead simulating other players competing for these objectives, making sure it’s still a compelling and engrossing part of the experience.

We’re also introducing a wide range of gameplay customization options, allowing you to scale the difficulty to your liking. Want to harvest resources faster or even disable the sandworm? That’s your choice. You can also customize all these options if you choose to rent a private server for you and your friends.

The new single-player mode allows you to play the game the way you want to, at your own pace.

Available in digital and physical format

We’re also excited to share that we’ll be releasing a physical edition of Dune: Awakening. We’re teaming up with Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe who will put the game on shelves in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, and with Solutions 2 GO for North and South America. It will also be released in retail in Japan, with a publisher to be announced later.

In Japan, the game is expected to release in October, with pre-orders commencing soon.

With the third installment in Denis Villeneuve’s and Legendary Entertainment’s epic Dune franchise coming to theatres in December, the physical edition can be a great holiday gift for Dune fans around the globe.

Can you survive on Arrakis?

Arrakis is a test that few will survive, and Dune: Awakening represents the ultimate survival fantasy. On September 22 it’s time to prove whether you can survive the most dangerous planet in the universe.

Dune: Awakening can be wishlisted and pre-ordered today.

Let’s take a closer look at each of the games. 

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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III – Cross-Gen Bundle | PS5, PS4

Call of Duty returns with an all-new campaign, modernized versions of classic Multiplayer maps and an open-world PvE Zombies experience. The campaign, a direct sequel to the record-breaking Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, sees Captain Price and Task Force 141 face off against ultranationalist war criminal Vladimir Makarov as he extends his grasp across the world. In Multiplayer, the 16 maps that launched with Modern Warfare 2 in 2009 return with upgraded graphics, new modes and innovative gameplay features. In Modern Warfare Zombies, team up with other squads for the first time ever as you work together to survive in the largest Zombies map yet.

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For the King II | PS5, PS4

Once beloved by her people, Queen Rosomon has turned against her subjects, casting them into servitude in the darkness of Fahrul’s mines whilst building alliances with sinister and malevolent forces. Gather your party in four player co-op or adventure alone through Fahrul as you risk everything to fight the tyrannical queen and bring an end to her oppressive reign. From the creators of For The King, the much-loved RPG that blends roguelite and tabletop gameplay comes a new chapter in Fahrul’s history, designed on an updated engine bringing innovation and gameplay refinement for returning heroes and new adventurers alike.

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CrossCode | PS5, PS4

This retro-inspired 2D action RPG might outright surprise you. CrossCode combines 16-bit style graphics with butter-smooth physics, a fast-paced combat system, and engaging puzzle mechanics, served with a gripping sci-fi story. CrossCode is all about how it plays! Take the best out of two popular genres, find a good balance between them and make a great game. That’s what CrossCode does. You get the puzzles of old school Action Adventure dungeons and are rewarded with the great variety of equipment you know and love from RPGs. During the fast-paced battles you will use the tools you find on your journey to reveal and exploit the enemies’ weaknesses and at the same time will be able to choose equipment and skills for a more in-depth approach in fighting your enemies.

*PlayStation Plus Monthly Games lineup may differ by region. Please check PlayStation Store on release day for more information. 

As the PlayStation Store continues to evolve to support modern commerce systems, including updated payment processing standards, PS3 and PS Vita are no longer able to support these updates at the level required. As a result, we will need to close PlayStation Store on these devices in the timeframes as follows:

• Mexico, Honduras, Nicaragua – PlayStation Store on PS3 will close starting August 2026.
• Additional Latin American and Middle Eastern countries – PlayStation Store on PS3 will close starting late 2026.
• In all other countries, PlayStation Store on PS3 and PS Vita will close in July 2027.

We know this news may be disappointing to PS3 and PS Vita players who hold a special place in their hearts for this generation of gaming. PS3 and PS Vita represent an important era in our PlayStation history, so this was not an easy decision for us to make. 

As we continue to expand the PlayStation experience on newer devices that most of our users are playing on today, we need to focus more resources on delivering the best gaming experiences on these platforms as we look ahead towards the future. 

To our amazing players, we want to give our heartfelt thanks for your ongoing passion and support, which has helped inspire us to shape PlayStation into what it is today. We are excited for the future ahead as we continue to push the boundaries of play. We look forward to having you on this journey with us as we explore new game worlds and new adventures that have yet to come. 

For an important update on physical disc production for new games releasing on PlayStation consoles announced today, please click here.

This is a natural direction for Sony Interactive Entertainment to adapt to consumer trends as the general preference for digital media significantly outpaces physical discs. This transition will enable us to align more closely with how most of our community prefers to access and play games today.  

We’ll continue to prioritize our resources to drive innovation in how players can access games and provide choices as to where players prefer to purchase new games, whether that’s at retailers or PlayStation Store. We remain committed to delivering a world-class gaming experience to our fans and we thank you for your continued support.  

For important updates on PlayStation Store for PS3 and PS Vita announced today, please click here.

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Instead, we rebuilt the game from the ground up on the latest version of the Anvil engine, modernizing nearly every system while preserving the spirit and identity of the original game. The result is an experience tailored for modern PlayStation hardware, with 60 FPS options, HDR support, Dolby Atmos, DualSense haptic feedback, and plenty of other improvements. You can find the list of graphics modes available at launch for PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 Pro below.

With all these new features and graphics options, we’ve been able to take full advantage of the PlayStation 5 hardware and deliver the best experience possible for players when the game launches on July 9.

In this article, we’d like to take a closer look at some of the technologies that bring this new version of the Caribbean to life.

A more reactive Caribbean with ray tracing

In Resynced, our goal was to make the world feel more alive, more dynamic, and more responsive to the player’s journey.

A major part of that comes from our updated lighting system, now fully dynamic and powered by hardware-accelerated ray tracing.

Instead of relying on precomputed lighting, the world reacts in real time to changes in time of day, weather, and environment. Interiors respond more accurately to outdoor light sources, and weather conditions dramatically reshape the mood of the world.

Ray-traced diffuse lighting allows light to bounce across surfaces, creating natural color bleeding and more consistent shading throughout environments. Meanwhile, Ray-Traced Specular Reflections enhance surfaces like wet wood, metal, and ocean spray, helping the Caribbean feel more physically grounded and reactive.

To ensure a consistent experience, Ray-Traced Global Illumination is enabled in all graphics modes on PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 Pro. Ray-Traced Specular Reflections are available in Balanced and Fidelity modes on PS5, and across all graphics modes on PS5 Pro.

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Continuous detail with micropolygon geometry

One of the key visual improvements in Black Flag Resynced comes from how we handle geometry at scale.

Traditional rendering pipelines rely on discrete levels of detail, switching between simplified models as the player moves through the world. While effective, this approach can sometimes introduce noticeable visual popping.

With our Micropolygon geometry pipeline, we take a different approach. Instead of switching between fixed models, geometry is continuously refined based on distance, visibility, and camera perspective. This continuous level of detail is enabled by the PlayStation 5’s ultra-high-speed SSD, which allows Anvil to instantly stream, virtualize, and render tiny geometric clusters.

This lets environments and assets scale smoothly from close-up detail to distant silhouettes without noticeable transitions.

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PlayStation 5 Pro enhancements

The PlayStation 5 Pro includes all the features of the base PlayStation 5 but adds significantly more GPU power and enhanced ray‑tracing performance, giving additional headroom for higher fidelity and more stable performance.

Across all graphics modes, players on PS5 Pro benefit from extended ray tracing support, including both Ray-Traced Global Illumination and Ray-Traced Specular Reflections.

This enables richer lighting and reflection quality while maintaining higher performance targets across Performance, Balanced, and Fidelity modes.

We’ve also expanded our strand-based hair on PS5 Pro. Rather than relying solely on traditional hair cards, the engine can simulate and render individual strands for more natural motion and response to wind. All of this allows us to get a very realistic hair render for our characters.

On PS5 Pro, strand-based hair is available for Edward in all modes. In Fidelity mode, nearby crowd characters also benefit from strand simulation during gameplay, while cinematics use strand-based hair for all characters regardless of mode.

In addition, Black Flag Resynced supports the latest version of PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR), helping deliver better image quality and improved reconstruction, reducing the visual gap between performance and fidelity modes.

A living world driven by Anvil’s Atmos

Black Flag Resynced simulates weather in real time through Atmos, the systemic weather simulation framework in our Anvil engine.

Rather than treating weather as a set of isolated effects, Atmos continuously simulates variables such as temperature, humidity, wind, and vapor density. These systems evolve over time and influence one another, producing more coherent and dynamic weather.

This same simulation extends into gameplay and environmental interaction. Wind affects not only cloud movement and storms at sea, but also vegetation, cloth, particles, sails, and character hair.

The result is a world that doesn’t just look alive but feels physically connected as well.

A richer ocean

The ocean has always been at the heart of Black Flag, and modernizing its rendering was a key focus for this project.

Black Flag Resynced introduces a fully modernized water system, based on a physically based rendering pipeline. New tessellation technique, volumetric foam generation, and dynamic bubble systems add more details to the water surface. These updates allow the sea to respond more naturally to wind conditions, weather, and ship movement.

The sea now plays an even greater role in shaping both the mood and moment-to-moment experience of navigation and combat.

Prepare for a more immersive experience

When rebuilding Assassin’s Creed Black Flag on the latest version of Anvil, our goal wasn’t only to modernize technology. We wanted to strengthen the sense of immersion, adventure, and discovery that made Edward Kenway’s journey so memorable in the first place. PlayStation 5 hardware has given us the opportunity to push that experience further than ever before, from the way the world looks and sounds, to how it feels.

Whether you’re returning to relive a favorite adventure, or setting sail with Edward for the first time, we’re excited to welcome you to the Caribbean when Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced launches on July 9 for PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 Pro.