Every new game releasing in July 2024

June was a packed month of showcases building up excitement for games releasing throughout 2024 and into 2025. The Xbox Games Showcase, Summer Game Fest, and Nintendo Direct alone give me plenty to plan for the rest of the year’s games, but I like to take it one month at a time. I often get so focused on later games that I forget about all the great games coming out in the next few weeks.

July is usually a tricky time for releases. Most publishers prefer to wait until the end of summer and then release their biggest games in the fall, but more and more games are taking advantage of this somewhat quiet period when there’s less competition to release. There are some games releasing in July that are definitely worth your time.

Related

Best Indie Games for PS5: Top indie games for PlayStation 5

These are the best indie games available on PS5.

1 Final Fantasy 14 Dawn Trail

July 2

I know that if you play FF14, you’ll be more than ready to jump right into Dawntrail as soon as it’s released, but I thought I’d include it on this list for those who aren’t yet interested in this MMO. I know how intimidating it can be to jump into a game that’s over 10 years old, but now is the perfect time. Dawntrail is like a cooldown expansion of the story after Endwalker wraps up the ongoing story setting that it started with. You can experience it all, of course, but all the new content doesn’t rely heavily on knowing dozens of characters or playing hundreds of hours to understand or enjoy the main missions. If you get hooked on this game, you can always go back and catch up.

Related

5 Animated Video Games That Are Better Than the Animated Shows

I love anime but I hate all the extra stuff, and these anime video games cut out all the extra stuff and get you right into the action.

2 First descendants

July 2

The first week of July is shaping up to be a busy week for everyone, even if you don’t have money. The First Descendant is a new free-to-play third-person shooter that’s a lot like Destiny. You create your own Descendant and go on a mission to fight invaders to save what’s left of humanity, but the story isn’t what makes this game so great. It’s another looter-shooter RPG that has everything you want from the genre: unique character classes with different skills and abilities, a ton of weapons and gear to acquire, and powerful bosses to defeat with up to three friends. We don’t know how substantial this game will be at launch. If it gets off to a good start, it could be the next live service game I play, especially compared to games that have been supported for years at this point.

Related

5 Live Service Games That’ll Keep You Engaged for Days

If you’re not careful, playing these life service games can eat up all your free time.

3 The Legend of Heroes: Akatsuki no Kiseki

July 5

If you’re not an RPG fan, skip to the next entry, because the Legend of Heroes series is targeted at exactly that demographic. But if you are an RPG fan and have been nervous about starting this long-running series, now’s your chance. The Trails games have been going on for years, with multiple subseries that connect and intertwine in a complicated timeline that can be hard to follow for those who haven’t kept up. Daybreak is a fresh start to the overall story. It’s set in the same world as the series, so it’s not a complete reboot or anything, but a whole new story with new characters. The game has been out in Japan for a while already, so the West is finally catching up. If you’ve always thought the series was interesting, now’s your chance to get involved in the beginning of a new story arc.

Related

7 Ways to Fix Slow Game Downloads on Steam

If you’re experiencing slow Steam downloads, these tips may help you improve your speed.

Four Gym

July 18

This list definitely needs at least one indie game, but I’ve had my eye on SCHiM for a long time. You may not know the name, but if you’ve seen the trailer, you’ll immediately remember it as a game about diving and swimming through shadows as a little blob of creatures. It’s a platform game at heart, but it also seems a bit like a puzzle game as you navigate, create, and manipulate shadows to try to get where you want to go. The art style alone is impressive, feeling like an interactive comic book. It aims for a more calm and wholesome vibe, which is nice in a month like this. I think this game will be the perfect palate cleanser that can be completed in a weekend or so.

Related

5 Calming Game Soundtracks to Help You Focus

Listen to calming video game tracks like Persona 5, Kingdom Hearts II, and more to focus your mind and boost your productivity.

Five Frostpunk 2

July 25

I’m sure I’m not the only one who wants to escape the heat, so Frostpunk 2 seems like the perfect way to imagine myself somewhere cold. Although I don’t actually want to live in this world where there is a shortage of fuel, food, and even political order. Frostpunk 2 seeks to enhance the stress and difficult decision-making introduced in the first game of managing a beleaguered town trapped in winter. It’s a city-builder, resource management sim, and political sim, all wrapped up in one depressing package, where there are no good decisions and the best outcome you can hope for is to just manage to survive. Where can I sign up?

Related

Upcoming Marvel Games — From Wolverine to Marvel Rivals

Whether on PS5, Xbox, or PC, Marvel fans have a ton of new games to look forward to over the next few years.