Saturday, 31 May 2025

Kotaku’s Biggest Gaming Culture News For The Week May 31, 2025

From mergers to memes, the landscape of interactive entertainment is always in motion. Here’s your cheat sheet for the week’s most important stories in gaming.

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Friday, 30 May 2025

The President Is Dead (In Helldivers 2)

“The President of Super Earth has been killed in action by the Illuminate during the fall of Prosperity City.” That was the message that greeted Helldivers 2 players when they logged on last night in one last bid to repel their invading squid-like foes. Some truthers think the hit was inside job. When the dust settled…

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Rumored PlayStation Handheld May Have Lost Its Rival Already

PlayStation, Xbox handheld

It looks like the long-rumored PlayStation handheld, expected to launch as part of the PS6 generation, has lost its Xbox competition already. A new report claims that Microsoft has shelved its dedicated Xbox handheld device for now. The company remains focused on its other next-gen Xbox devices.

As PlayStation remains tight-lipped about its handheld, Xbox shelves its device

According to Windows Central, the handheld that’s being sidelined for now was specifically meant to run full Xbox games. The website claims that Microsoft is still committed to the project, but has other priorities at present. One of those priorities is a handheld that it’s developing in partnership with ASUS, which will play Windows games.

Back in November 2024, a Bloomberg report claimed that with its yet-to-be-announced PlayStation handheld, Sony’s eyeing a slice of Nintendo’s market share in addition to competing with Microsoft. It was further stated that this device will be able to play PS5 games.

While Microsoft’s handheld plans are an open secret complete with leaked protoype images, Sony has kept its project tightly under wraps. The company has said that it plans to “focus on strong and profitable peripherals such as PlayStation Portal” but has stopped short of spoiling its plans for the future.

The post Rumored PlayStation Handheld May Have Lost Its Rival Already appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.



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PS Plus Essential June 2025 Bonus Monthly Game Available Now

PS Plus Essential June 2025 monthly game

The first PS Plus Essential June 2025 monthly game is rolling out now, following a brief delay. PS5 and PS4 players in most regions can now download Destiny 2: The Final Shape, which is one of the four titles that’s included in June’s Essential lineup.

The remaining PS Plus Essential June 2025 monthly games will be out next week

As we previously mentioned, June’s Essential lineup is an outlier in that it comes with four titles as opposed to three as part of the Days of Play 2025 celebrations. Although The Final Shape is an expansion, it’s a pretty hefty piece of content.

The remaining three games — NBA 2K25, Alone in the Dark, and Bomb Rush Cyberfunk — will release next Tuesday, June 3.

As a reminder, The Final Shape includes the new story campaign, three new Supers, a new destination, new weapons and armor, and access to one episode (the one that is currently active) in the year of The Final Shape. Players will need the base game to access the expansion since it’s not stand-alone.

If The Final Shape isn’t available in your region yet, wait for the PS Store to update around noon local time. It’s currently available in Australia/New Zealand, Asia, and Europe/U.K. American regions are typically the last to update.

The Final Shape can be claimed by Extra and Premium members as well. Players will have permanent access to the content as long as they have an active PS Plus membership (and the content remains live).

The post PS Plus Essential June 2025 Bonus Monthly Game Available Now appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.



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Thursday, 29 May 2025

Weirdest Award-Winning PS4 Game Is Under $5 on PS Store

PS Store sale

One of the weirdest award-winning games that’ll make you question your existence is up to 80% off in the new PS Store sale. David OReilly’s Everything, which launched as a timed PS4 console exclusive in 2017 (playable on PS5), is hard to describe. What we can say is that it’s an interactive experience worth checking out.

David OReilly’s Everything is $2.99 for PS Plus members in latest PS Store sale

Everything, which is narrated with the philosophy of the late Alan Watts, is about seeing things from every level of existence — from basic objects to insects in a vast, interconnected universe.

“Everything is an interactive experience where everything you see is a thing you can be,” reads a PS Store overview. “Learn to change what you are to create worlds within worlds within worlds, or let go any time to allow Everything to take over and produce a never ending documentary about the world you live in.”

I originally played Everything back when it launched in 2017 and found it to be a unique experience. The game received positive reviews from critics, and has a Metascore of 80/100 on PS4. It was later ported to Switch, but never saw an Xbox release.

For the trophy hunters, Everything comes with a quick and easy Platinum, provided you can sit through highly philosophical interactive experiences.

Those who aren’t PS Plus members can buy Everything for just $4.49.

The post Weirdest Award-Winning PS4 Game Is Under $5 on PS Store appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.



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First Set of PS Plus June Bonus Freebies Available Now

PS Plus June 2025

Following a bit of a rough start yesterday, the first set of PS Plus bonus freebies for June 2025 is rolling out now as part of the Days of Play event. Headlining today’s new additions is the fantastic action game, Another Crab’s Treasure for the PS5. The game is available as part of Extra and Premium subscriptions.

List of PS Plus Extra, Premium June 2025 bonus freebies available as of May 29

Another Crab’s Treasure is already available in some regions, with the Americas to follow. In addition to this, PS Plus Premium users now have access to two brand-new game trials: Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 (PS5) and Sid Meier’s Civilization VII (PS5, PS4).

Civilization VII may be a niche title, but is a fantastic new addition to PS Plus Premium Game Trials alongside the universally-acclaimed Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 — a game-of-the-year contender. As a reminder, progress from trial carries over to the full game including trophy progress and save data.

Speaking of full games, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is currently 20% off as part of the ongoing PS Store sale that ends on June 12. Meanwhile, Civilization VII is 15% off.

As for the length of trials, Civlization VII trial lasts two hours and players can spend four hours swashbuckling in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 at no additional cost

The post First Set of PS Plus June Bonus Freebies Available Now appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.



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Wednesday, 28 May 2025

The Internet Reacts To The Last Of Us’ Second Season Finale

The Last of Us concluded its second season on Sunday with a pretty big cliffhanger, as HBO plans to adapt the story of The Last of Us Part II across three seasons in total. Here at Kotaku, I’ve been recapping each episode of the show, and I have not been having a good time. Frankly, I find it to be a mostly…

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