Sony has lifted the curtains on February’s PlayStation Plus monthly titles, delivering what many players will see as a standout selection for 2026. Members will be able to download four games: Undisputed, Subnautica: Below Zero, Ultros and Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown, from Feb. 3 until March 2.

The selection cuts across multiple genres, from boxing and survival gameplay to science-fiction action and high-octane air combat. Below is the full list of titles available.

Undisputed (PS5)

Undisputed positions itself as a realistic take on boxing, combining detailed visuals with a heavy emphasis on in-ring authenticity. The game features more than 70 licensed fighters, a comprehensive set of attributes designed to reflect different fighting styles, and a career mode that charts a path from amateur bouts to world title contention. Players can also create and customise their own boxer, from physical build to attire.

Subnautica: Below Zero (PS5, PS4)

Set in a glacial region of Planet 4546B, Subnautica: Below Zero places players in a hostile, icebound landscape that demands careful planning and survival skills. The story follows a search for answers surrounding a missing sibling, unfolding across newly designed areas that must be explored, studied and endured. Crafting tools, constructing habitats and avoiding dangerous wildlife are all central to the experience.

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Ultros (PS5, PS4)

With its roots firmly in sci-fi, Ultros stands out through its vivid artistic direction and otherworldly soundscape. Players are thrown into visceral, close-combat encounters with alien lifeforms, balanced by periods of calm in which tending to plant life becomes essential. 

These acts of cultivation unlock previously inaccessible areas, while a time-loop mechanic allows the story to be revisited, revealing new secrets and branching progression options.

Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown (PS4)

Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown places players in the cockpit of advanced fighter jets, delivering high-speed aerial combat across vast stretches of open sky. Taking on the role of an elite pilot, players engage in intense dogfights and precision manoeuvres, selecting from a wide range of modern and futuristic aircraft equipped with powerful weaponry as the campaign escalates in difficulty.

Tech mogul Elon Musk has revealed that his artificial intelligence (AI) startup, xAI, will launch a new AI-powered gaming studio to counter the ‘massive corporations’ pushing ideologically charged video games. Mr Musk was responding to a post by Dogecoin co-creator Billy Markus where the latter expressed dissatisfaction at the current state of gaming. The billionaire said his gaming studio will “make games great again,” referencing the MAGA movement, of which Mr Musk was an essential part during the US presidential election.

“I don’t understand how game developers and game journalism got so ideologically captured. Gamers have always been trolls, anti-greedy corporations, anti-bs. Gamers have always rejected dumb manipulative bs, and can tell when someone is an outsider poser. Why lean into the bs?” wrote Mr Markus on X (formerly Twitter).

Replying to the post, Mr Musk said: “Too many game studios that are owned by massive corporations. xAI is going to start an AI game studio to make games great again!”

Too many game studios that are owned by massive corporations. @xAI is going to start an AI game studio to make games great again! https://t.co/UR4nFODyfd

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 27, 2024

Earlier, the Tesla CEO also criticised the inclusion of a pronoun selection feature in an upcoming Xbox game called Avowed. “Having pronouns in a fantasy video game is utterly unacceptable,” he wrote on X followed by an angry emoji.

Calling AI gaming the “future” of the industry, Mr Musk also reacted to a post complaining about Mcirosoft’s gaming division for discriminating against Whites during the hiring process.

“Microsoft’s gaming division is excluding whites from being hired to work on their video games. All of their new hires are unqualified queer and black people because the company’s executives have an explicit mandate against “crusty old white dudes,” read the post, to this Mr Musk responded by tagging Microsoft CEO Nadella: “Um, @satyanadella, this is illegal.”

Um, @satyanadella, this is illegal … https://t.co/54GC5VW5ZJ

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 27, 2024

Also read | Elon Musk Hints X Is Making It Harder For People To Read News

What is xAI?

Mr Musk launched xAI in July 2023 as an alternative to OpenAI’s ChatGPT. In March, xAI said it would open-source its ChatGPT challenger “Grok”, giving the public free access to experiment with the code behind the technology.

xAI managed to raise $6 billion in series B funding in May, reaching a post-money valuation of $24 billion, backed by investors that included Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital. A new $5 billion fundraising round is expected soon which could double xAI’s valuation to $50 billion in just six months.

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The real money gaming industry — which runs games where users can stake money for winnings on apps — welcomed the Union Budget’s clarification on Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) for money won on their platforms. These platforms, referred to as “online gaming” by the government, are required to deduct 1% TDS from users when the latter withdraw their winnings and deposits.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the government would be “removing the minimum threshold of ₹10,000 for TDS and clarifying taxability relating to online gaming.” This would allow real money gaming platforms to assess TDS on net earnings over the year instead of on individual transactions. “It is seen that deductors are deducting tax under Section 194 B and 194 BB of the Act by applying the threshold of ₹10,000 per transaction and avoiding tax deduction by splitting a winning into multiple transactions each below ₹10,000,” the government said in its memorandum explaining the Budget. “This is against the intention of legislature,” it emphasised.

‘Ambiguities cleared’

“It’s a progressive step as the government is creating a new section for the online gaming industry. It cements the recognition of online gaming as a distinct technology-driven entertainment sector,” Games24x7 Chief Financial Officer Rahul Tewari said in a statement. “[W]e will wait to get more clarity from the department on the computation mechanism.”

“[T]he government has cleared ambiguities regarding TDS calculation for online gaming and simplifies the process for both companies and users,” Vikash Sureka, the Mobile Premier League fantasy sports platform’s Chief Financial Officer, said in a separate statement.

“Since winnings in online gaming are given in both cash and in kind, it is important to note that even winnings paid in kind are taxable. And the obligation is on the gaming company to ensure that the winner pays the tax before the winning is given to him,” said Sanjay Tolia, tax leader at PwC.