A 2026 PS5 game has a new free download on the PlayStation Store that lets all PlayStation 5 and PS5 Pro users get the game and play it for free, though it’s not the entire version of the game. While not the entire version, it’s an appreciable amount of the game from Koei Tecmo, which normally asks PS5 and PS5 Pro users to fork over $40 to download from the PS Store.
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Back in 2019, Team Ninja — the studio best known for the Ninja Gaiden and Nioh series — and Koei Tecmo released the fighting game, Dead or Alive 6. Then, this year, on June 25, a PS5 version of the game was released. This version costs $40; however, there is also a free version. This version is called “Core Fighters,” and as the name implies, it has a limited roster. Other than some missing characters and the story mode being locked, it’s the same game as the $40 version, and it is clearly meant to entice players with no barrier to entry, and then get them to stick around, and likely buy the full version. How well this is working for Koei Tecmo, we do not know, but it works for PS5 and PS5 Pro users who want to trial the game before buying it or who are simply on a budget. That said, those who pick it up for free will still need PS Plus to play it online, because this is not a free-to-play game.
Fan-Favorite Fighting Game
For those unfamiliar with Dead or Alive 6, it debuted in 2019 as the sixth mainline installment in the series and the follow-up to 2012’s Dead or Alive 5. It has yet to get its own successor, making it the latest mainline game in the Koei Tecmo series, which dates all the way back to 1996, arcades, the Sega Saturn, and the PS1.
Is Dead or Alive 6 any good? Well, on Metacritic, it has a decent score range of 72 to 76. This isn’t the best, but it’s not bad either. Meanwhile, PlayStation users rate it higher. To this end, it has a 4.12 out of 5 stars after more than 32,000 user reviews, mostly from PS4 users. That said, those not into fighting games are unlikely to be made disciples by this release, which sometimes puts more emphasis on fan service than anything else. It’s a solid fighting game, just not as good as the best fighting games on PS5.
Dead or Alive 7 was announced earlier in the year, but there’s no word of a release date, which means Dead or Alive 6 is likely going to stay the latest game in the franchise for a bit. In other words, now is a great time to jump into it.
As always, feel free to leave a comment or two letting us know what you think, or join the video game conversations happening over on the ComicBook Forum.
