Video game releases for July 2017

Here are some of the big video game releases for the month of July 2017. Be sure to check out the list we put together of our most anticipated games of 2017 and subscribe to Polygon's YouTube channel for tons of gaming videos. Also, here are the free games you get with your Xbox Live Gold and PlayStation Plus subscriptions this month. For your movies and TV fix, here's what is coming to and leaving your favorite streaming services next month.

What are you looking forward to playing? Did we miss anything? Let us know in the comments.

Note: This is not a comprehensive list of releases and only games with specific dates are listed below. Some games are announced for July but have no firm release date.

July 11:

Final Fantasy 12: The Zodiac Age (PlayStation 4) — Final Fantasy 12: The Zodiac Age, a remaster of 2006's Final Fantasy 12, will include the International Zodiac Job system that was part of the Japan-only update for the PlayStation 2 game. The job system allows a user to assign a role to a character, which provides them with unique skills and stat growth opportunities. For more on what's new and what's better in the remaster, see Polygon's preview.

July 18:

Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles (PlayStation 4 and Windows PC) — According to Prideful Sloth, a small team led by a former Activision producer and an artist and programmer from Rocksteady, the game's hero will help residents by contributing talents like farming, crafting, cooking, fishing and brewing to help them build relationships and unlock rewards. There are also eight different environments to explore across Gemea, as the hero joins up with etheral Sprites, the only creatures who can dispel the encroaching darkness. Check out the trailer.

July 20:

Lone Echo (Oculus Rift) — An excerpt from our preview of Ready at Dawn Studios' new VR experience:

"Lone Echo puts you inside what seems to be a sentient robot in deep space, and the entire movement system is based on grabbing walls and other structures and pulling yourself along, or using the jets on your wrists to get around. You see some gnarly things in the demo I played, including a stressful rescue mission and some moments out in deep space, but I never felt ill. It was like magic."

July 21:

Splatoon 2 (Nintendo Switch) — Are you a kid, or are you a squid? To help you decide, check out 30 minutes of the game's colorful horde mode and the trailer for the single-player Hero Mode.

July 25:

Aven Colony (PlayStation 4, Windows PC and Xbox One) — Aven Colony is a sci-fi, city-building strategy game, by Mothership Entertainment, which includes veterans from the Fable and Metroid Prime series. Aven Colony, according to the developer, "is a rich simulation of an extra-terrestrial colony. Build, customize and maintain your settlement, manage your resources, encounter a variety of alien life forms and look after your citizens – all while dealing with the challenges of life in an entirely new solar system."

Fallen Legion: Flames of Rebellion/Sins of An Empire (PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita) — Both versions of the game are real-time action RPGs in which you control four characters simultaneously, building and executing combos. YummyYummyTummy director, Spencer Yip, describes the story in the different versions of the game in this PlayStation Blog post:

"On PlayStation 4, you guide Princess Cecille, who has reluctantly become the emperor of a dying kingdom. While Cecille is on a quest to restore glory to the crumbling Empire of Fenumia, the Legate is planning a coup d’état to claim the throne. PS Vita players will see the events in Fallen Legion from the perspective of the Legate, a charming and cunning tactician, as he battles to oust the monarchy and roots out traitors among his army. You’ll face different ferocious bosses on Vita including the bloodthirsty Werewolf. Both twisted stories are the brainchild of Ben Bateman, localization editor on Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward."

Pyre (Linux, PlayStation 4 and Windows PC) — Our preview of Bastion and Transistor developer Supergiant Games' third title explained it as "a game of lost hope, redemption and spiritual, aura-blasting basketball meets dodgeball. The game uses the gorgeous painterly aesthetics and compelling storytelling that Supergiant is so known for to propel a quirky sort of gameplay that doesn't quite seem like a fit initially, but grows on you over time." Check out the first 20 minutes of the PAX East demo from last year.

July 28:

Hey! Pikmin (Nintendo 3DS) — Hey! Pikmin lets players use the 3DS touchscreen to control their Pikmin, sending them to fight or move obstacles, much like the previous games. This 2D view seems to offer unique gameplay opportunities: we saw Pikmin plummeting down holes and battling monsters in new ways. The game is quite different from its console predecessors; check out our impressions of the title.

Miitopia (Nintendo 3DS) — In Miitopia, Miis band together to fight monsters in a variety of settings. Essentially, a dark lord has appeared and, with a party of three other Miis that you discover along the way, you’ll battle a series of evil minions while trying to make your way to the final boss. Players will take on traditional RPG classes, including wizards and mages, allowing the main hero to cast their friends in various roles. Check out some details on the demo, available now, and 30 minutes of gameplay.

July 29:

Dragon Quest 11 (Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation 4) — Unlike the massively multiplayer Dragon Quest 10, which never made its way stateside, Dragon Quest 11 is returning to both its single-player focused role-playing and coming to the U.S. Along with the 3DS and PS4 versions, a Nintendo Switch version of the game is in the works. Here's the reveal trailer.