Kropp Gaming/ Monthly Roundups/ August 2026
Monthly Roundup

August 2026
The Drop

Everything worth playing this August. The ten biggest games out this month, everything free with a Game Pass or PS Plus sub, and the top five landing on each of PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo and PC.

Out This Month Top 10
Free With Your Sub 10 games
Every Platform Top 5 each
Published August 2026
Every Platform · Out This Month
Top 10 Games Out This Month

The ten biggest games launching in August, wherever you play. A mix of PC, PS5, Xbox and Switch 2, roughly in date order. Dates are the confirmed release dates as they stand, and they can still shift.

Beast of Reincarnation
No. 1
PS5 / Xbox / PC · 4 August
Beast of Reincarnation
Game Freak's first proper swing outside Pokemon. A woman, her dog and a ruined Japan, with real-time and turn-based combat mixed together. On Game Pass from day one, so it costs nothing to try.
Also On Game Pass
Big Walk
No. 2
Switch 2 / PS5 / PC · 4 August
Big Walk
From the Untitled Goose Game mob, and it might be the nicest thing out this month. You and your mates walk, talk and solve things together, with nothing anywhere trying to kill you. It also lands straight on PS Plus.
Also On PS Plus
Pokopia: Bubbly Basin
No. 3
Switch 2 · 5 August
Pokopia: Bubbly Basin
Part one of the Pokopia Expansion Pass takes the town underwater. The paid bit is the new area. The free update that teaches Ditto to Dive costs you nothing.
DLC
Marvel Tokon
No. 4
PS5 / PC · 6 August
Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls
Four on four Marvel scrapping from Arc System Works, the Guilty Gear lot. Gorgeous to look at, and the sort of game the kids will want a go at the second they see it.
Fighting
Oblivion Remastered
No. 5
Switch 2 · 11 August
Oblivion Remastered
Bethesda's 2006 classic, rebuilt last year, now portable. A genuinely enormous world you can chip away at in twenty minute sittings. 1080p docked, 900p handheld, 30fps either way.
RPG
Pro Jank Footy
No. 6
PC / PS5 / Xbox / Switch 2 · 12 August
Pro Jank Footy
Aussie Rules as an arcade brawl, made in Adelaide. Over 150 daft powers and a trailer animated by Michael Cusack. This is the one I'm most looking forward to and I'm not sorry about it.
Aussie Made
Duskfade
No. 7
PS5 / Xbox / Switch 2 / PC · 13 August
Duskfade
A third-person adventure built in the shape of Jak and Daxter, with a clockpunk look and a story about grief underneath it. There's a demo on Steam if you want a go before you commit.
Adventure
Mortal Shell II
No. 8
PS5 / Xbox / PC · 20 August
Mortal Shell II
A souls-like that has openly decided to respect your time. Compact world, dozens of short dungeons, Shells to collect. You don't need to have played the first one.
Action RPG
MGS Master Collection Vol. 2
No. 9
PS4 / PS5 / Xbox / PC · 27 August
MGS Master Collection Vol. 2
Metal Gear Solid 4 finally escapes the PS3 after nearly twenty years, with Peace Walker and Ghost Babel alongside it. If you never finished Snake's story, this is your month.
Collection
Elden Ring Tarnished
No. 10
Switch 2 · 28 August
Elden Ring Tarnished Edition
Elden Ring on a handheld, finally, after a long delay to get it running properly. Base game plus Shadow of the Erdtree, two new starting classes and four armour sets.
Action RPG
Game Pass · PlayStation Plus
Free With Your Sub

If you already pay for Game Pass or PS Plus, this lot costs you nothing extra. Five on Game Pass worth loading, and five on PS Plus, three of which are August's monthly games and only claimable between 4 and 31 August. Heads up: a batch of PS Plus catalogue games leaves on 18 August, so check anything you've been meaning to start.

Halo: Campaign Evolved
No. 1
Xbox / PC · Game Pass
Halo: Campaign Evolved
We gave it 9.5. The first Halo rebuilt from the ground up, four-player co-op, three new missions. On Ultimate and PC Game Pass.
Game Pass
Beast of Reincarnation
No. 2
Xbox / PC · From 4 August
Beast of Reincarnation
The month's biggest new game, free with the sub from launch day. Worth two nights of your time before you decide.
Game Pass
Palworld
No. 3
Xbox / PC · Game Pass
Palworld
Out of early access since July, with the World Tree endgame and a lot more land. Co-op the kids can drop into without much explaining.
Game Pass
Forza Horizon 6
No. 4
Xbox / PC · Game Pass
Forza Horizon 6
We gave it 9. Still the best arcade racer going and still the easiest thing to pause when you get called. Ultimate and PC Game Pass.
Game Pass
Hades II
No. 5
Xbox / PC · Game Pass
Hades II
One run, twenty minutes, put it down. If your gaming happens in the gaps, this is built for exactly that.
Game Pass
Dying Light 2
No. 6
PS5 / PS4 · Claim by 31 August
Dying Light 2 Stay Human
The Reloaded Edition, with the Bloody Ties story content in the box. Parkour across rooftops, avoid the ground after dark, and take three mates with you.
PS Plus Monthly
Big Walk
No. 7
PS5 · Claim by 31 August
Big Walk
Out this month and free on PS Plus the same day. A co-op game about talking to your friends rather than shooting at things. Rare, and lovely.
PS Plus Monthly
Signalis
No. 8
PS4 · Claim by 31 August
Signalis
Old-school top-down survival horror, quietly adored since 2022. Start it early in the night, not late.
PS Plus Monthly
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora
No. 9
PS5 · Extra
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora
Added to the catalogue in July. One of the better looking open worlds on the machine, and a decent one to just wander around in.
PS Plus Catalog
Rise of the Ronin
No. 10
PS5 · Extra
Rise of the Ronin
Team Ninja's open-world samurai game, also new to the catalogue. A proper time sink for the nights you actually get one.
PS Plus Catalog
On PS5 This Month
Top 5 Coming to PlayStation

Five landing on PlayStation in August, beyond the big multiplatform releases up top.

Grounded 2
No. 1
PS5 · 11 August
Grounded 2
Obsidian's back-garden survival game finally lands on PlayStation in early access, with the Into the Abyss update alongside it. Shrunk down, bugs everywhere, brilliant with kids.
PlayStation
Hell Let Loose: Vietnam
No. 2
PS5 · 13 August
Hell Let Loose: Vietnam
Fifty on fifty, and nothing like Call of Duty. You hold a line, you talk to your squad, and you die a lot if nobody does either. Delayed out of June to here.
PlayStation
Mafia: Man of Honor
No. 3
PS5 · 14 August
Mafia: The Old Country, Man of Honor
Ten bucks for two more story chapters in Sicily, plus an expanded Free Ride and new weapons and cars. Cheap way back into a game a lot of people quietly loved.
PlayStation
Star Wars Zero Company
No. 4
PS5 · 27 August
Star Wars Zero Company
Turn-based Clone Wars tactics from ex-Firaxis people. XCOM with clone troopers, basically, and the sort of thing you can play one mission of and stop.
PlayStation
Resonance: A Plague Tale
No. 5
PS5 · 27 August
Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy
Set fifteen years before the first game and far less about rats. More exploring, more combat, more puzzles, and it apparently plays like old Assassin's Creed.
PlayStation
On Xbox Series X|S This Month
Top 5 Coming to Xbox

Five landing on Xbox in August, beyond the big multiplatform releases up top. Anything confirmed for Game Pass is called out in the Free With Your Sub list above.

Expeditions: Samurai
No. 1
Xbox · 7 August
Expeditions: Samurai
Tactical RPG in feudal Japan from the Expeditions lot, who have quietly been making good turn-based games for years without much fuss.
Xbox
No More Room In Hell 2
No. 2
Xbox · 11 August
No More Room In Hell 2
Co-op zombie survival that wants you scared rather than powerful. Ammo is scarce, friendly fire is on, and your mates are the main hazard.
Xbox
The Sinking City 2
No. 3
Xbox · 18 August
The Sinking City 2
Frogwares swaps detective work for survival horror in a flooded Lovecraftian city. The first was a flawed thing a lot of people still finished.
Xbox
STALKER 2: Cost of Hope
No. 4
Xbox · 20 August
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Cost of Hope
The first proper expansion, a new Skif story with dozens of hours in it, and everyone who owns the game gets the free Update 2.0 and its engine upgrade the same day.
Xbox
Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2
No. 5
Xbox · 25 August
Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2
Another bug hunt, now four to a squad with a new Specialist role and new Xenomorph types. Straightforward co-op shooting with mates.
Xbox
On Switch and Switch 2 This Month
Top 5 Coming to Nintendo

Five landing on Switch and Switch 2 in August. A big month for ports, and a couple the kids can actually play.

Final Fantasy XIV
No. 1
Switch 2 · 4 August
Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail
The MMO finally makes it to Switch 2 after years of rumours. An enormous game to disappear into, and it runs on the thing in your hands.
Nintendo
Lies of P Complete
No. 2
Switch 2 · Early August
Lies of P: Complete Edition
The Pinocchio soulslike, base game plus every DLC and update, portable at last. Digital first, with a physical version following in October.
Nintendo
Super Mario Sunshine
No. 3
Switch 2 · 13 August
Super Mario Sunshine
Sunshine joins Nintendo Classics on Switch 2, and two Virtual Boy games that never shipped turn up first. Odd, brilliant, and the kids will want a go.
Nintendo
Backyard Baseball
No. 4
Switch · 18 August
Backyard Baseball
The 90s kids' classic comes back. No stats to learn, no menus to fight, just pick a team and play. Genuinely one for the six year olds.
Nintendo
Lou's Lagoon
No. 5
Switch · 27 August
Lou's Lagoon
Run a seaplane delivery service around a tropical island. Cosy, low stakes, and easy to put down when you get called away.
Nintendo
On Steam and PC This Month
Top 5 Coming to PC

Five landing on PC in August. Smaller games mostly, which is where PC has been at its best all year.

ReStory
No. 1
PC · 6 August
ReStory
Run a little electronics repair shop, take apart old consoles, clean them up and put them back together. One of the best demos of the year and the cosy sleeper pick of the month.
PC
Monsters Are Coming!
No. 2
PC · 6 August
Monsters Are Coming!
A roguelite landing on Game Pass the same day it launches, so it costs nothing to find out whether it clicks.
Also On Game Pass
Wild Blue Skies
No. 3
PC · 13 August
Wild Blue Skies
An on-rails shooter with talking animal pilots, which is a polite way of saying it is Star Fox and it looks great. There's a demo on Steam right now.
PC
Sandustry
No. 4
PC · 13 August
Sandustry
A factory and physics sim about digging, sorting and automating sand. Day one on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass.
Also On Game Pass
Star Wars Zero Company
No. 5
PC · 27 August
Star Wars Zero Company
Same day on PC, and this is the version to want. Mouse-driven squad tactics where losing a trooper means losing them, on the platform the genre has always lived on.
PC
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