July is here and the gaming calendar is picking up pace. The Steam Summer Sale is in its final days, Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced is days away from launch, and the back half of 2026 is shaping up to be one of the biggest on record. Here is everything worth knowing this week.

Steam Summer Sale Ends July 9: Last Chance to Grab These

The Steam Summer Sale 2026 wraps up on July 9 at 10:00 AM Pacific, which means Aussie players have until late evening on July 9 local time before everything goes back to full price. Unlike older Valve sale formats, prices are locked in for the full two weeks with no flash sales, so what you see right now is what you get until the shutters come down.

If your library still has gaps, this is the window to fix them. A few picks worth calling out:

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Complete Edition is 80% off, including both expansion packs, which alone represent more content than most full-priced games. If GTA 6 has you thinking about open-world RPGs to fill the gap before November, this is the obvious answer. A third Witcher expansion is reportedly in development for 2027, which makes now the right time to get across it if you have not.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is 75% off. With GTA VI on the horizon there has never been a better time to finally get across Arthur Morgan's story if you have been putting it off.

Mewgenics, one of the strongest releases of 2026, from the Binding of Isaac and Super Meat Boy developer Edmund McMillen, is 25% off at its lowest ever price on Steam. It is a turn-based tactical roguelike about breeding and raising armies of mutant cats, it is deeply weird, and it is worth every cent.

Hades 2 is on sale and is the bigger game with better combat than the original, though the story ending is considered the weaker of the two. The original Hades is also discounted and remains one of the best roguelikes ever made if you are new to either.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is 80% off. It launched rough on PC in 2023 but has been comprehensively patched since and is now one of the platform's better action-adventure games. Easy recommendation for anyone who missed it.

Hollow Knight: Silksong is seeing its first ever price drop on Steam at 25% off. Mass Effect Legendary Edition is 92% off, three full games at a price that is genuinely hard to justify skipping. Borderlands 4 is at its lowest ever price on Steam, and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is seeing its first notable discount since launch.

The sale also runs alongside an Epic Games Store freebie window, so check both storefronts before the week is out.

No benefit to waiting. Prices do not drop further from here.

Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced Launches July 9: Here Is What Is New

Right as the Steam Summer Sale closes, Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced arrives. The remake of the 2013 original lands July 9 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam, Epic, and the Ubisoft Store.

This is a ground-up rebuild in the latest version of the Anvil Engine, the same engine used for Assassin's Creed Shadows. The story of Edward Kenway, privateer turned pirate turned Assassin, is unchanged. What has been rebuilt around it is significant. The visuals are a complete overhaul with ray-traced global illumination, micropolygon rendering, fully reworked water and weather systems, and 60fps options confirmed on console. It does not look like a remaster. It looks like a 2026 game built around a 2013 story, which is essentially what it is.

The gameplay changes are the more interesting story. Combat has been reworked with a new parry-driven system and enemies that adapt to your patterns, so predictable play gets punished. The instant-fail states on tailing and eavesdropping missions have been removed entirely, which was one of the original game's most complained-about design decisions. Parkour has been updated with new animations and moves borrowed from Shadows, and Edward can now freely crouch rather than being locked into contextual cover.

Naval combat keeps the Jackdaw at the centre of everything, with more firepower and alternate fire upgrades added across every weapon. Three brand new officers join the ship's crew, each with unique abilities and their own origin quest lines. Additional new missions expand the stories of Blackbeard and Stede Bonnet, and new scenes written by original Black Flag writer Darby McDevitt add to Edward's narrative without replacing anything that was there before.

The review embargo reportedly lifts July 8, one day before launch, so scores should be available before you need to make a call. Pre-orders come with Blackbeard's Crimson Pack at no extra cost. Physical copies are available through local retailers.

PlayStation Plus July 2026: Three Free Games Live Now

PS Plus Essential subscribers have three new games to claim from today. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III headlines the July lineup, joining For the King II and CrossCode, all available now on PS5 and PS4.

Modern Warfare III is the full game including the campaign, multiplayer, and Warzone integration. For the King II is a co-op tactical RPG with up to three players, and CrossCode is a critically acclaimed pixel art action RPG that has been on many best-of lists since its original release.

All three are available to claim now through the PlayStation Store and stay in your library as long as your PS Plus subscription is active.

The Loadout

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