PlayStation Gameplay Chart: PlayStation exclusives return to the chart

By Kes Eylers-Stephenson,
While the usual titles dominate the table (see: Call of Duty, GTA V, Fortnite, Apex Legends, FIFA 21), PlayStation exclusives are making the bottom of the table a competitive space. Meanwhile, Resident Evil: Village is making waves in the PS5 community. Here is the top 40 PlayStation Gameplay Chart for the week ending May 23rd, 2021.

PositionGamePublisherLast week
1 iconCall of Duty: Modern WarfareActivision1
2 iconCall of Duty: Black Ops Cold WarActivision4
3 iconFortniteEpic Games7
4 iconFIFA 21Electronic Arts6
5 iconResident Evil VillageCapcom Entertainment2
6 iconBattlefield VElectronic Arts3
7 iconApex LegendsElectronic Arts5
8 iconGrand Theft Auto VRockstar9
9 iconRocket LeaguePsyonix8
10 iconDestiny 2Activision11
11 iconMinecraftMojang Studios10
12 iconGenshin ImpactmiHoYo13
13 iconMass Effect: Legendary EditionElectronic Arts16
14 iconFall Guys: Ultimate KnockoutDevolver Digital12
15 iconOverwatch: Origins EditionBlizzard Entertainment22
16 iconAssassin's Creed ValhallaUbisoft15
17 iconTom Clancy's Rainbow Six SiegeUbisoft20
18 iconDays GoneSony Interactive Entertainment18
19 iconThe Last of Us Part IISony Interactive EntertainmentRE
20 iconHorizon Zero DawnSony Interactive Entertainment17
21 iconReturnalSony Interactive Entertainment19
22 iconRed Dead Redemption 2Rockstar23
23 iconDead by Daylight 1/2505 Games24
24 iconNBA 2K212K Sports25
25 iconStranded DeepBeam Team Games14
26 iconWreckfestTHQ Nordic21
27 iconMortal Kombat 11Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment26
28 iconGhost of TsushimaSony Interactive Entertainment27
29 iconKnockout CityElectronic Arts-
30 iconFinal Fantasy XIV: A Realm RebornSquare Enix33
31 iconSubnauticaUnknown Worlds Entertainment31
32 iconFinal Fantasy VII RemakeSquare Enix32
33 iconZombie Army 4: Dead WarRebellion29
34 iconNieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139...Square Enix28
35 iconMarvel's AvengersSquare Enix36
36 iconResident Evil 7 BiohazardCapcom Entertainment30
37 iconWarframeDigital Extremes38
38 iconBrawlhallaBlue Mammoth Games-
39 iconGran Turismo SportSony Computer Entertainment35
40 iconMLB The Show 21Sony Interactive Entertainment37
Chart compiled using gameplay data from over 555,000 active PlayStation accounts. Chart information is copyright TrueGaming Network.
Let's start at the top. Resident Evil: Village has dropped three places to fifth, conceding ground to Call of Duty, Fortnite, and FIFA after a strong outing last week in second.

It was always expected considering Call of Duty's double pivot of Warzone and Cold War both able to rope in players with their live service functionality. Warzone, in particular, received a mid-season update that added three new areas to Verdansk, Rambo and John McClane skins (for £17 each — excuse me while I throw up my cereal milk in disgust), and a host of other tweaks and changes. You can read the full list of changes in the shadow realm of our sister site, TrueAchievements. The player count appears to be split roughly in two between PS4 and PS5 — 40,000 and 20,000, respectively — but expect that to be the only number changing until the next release of the series. A PS5 patch was recently confirmed, so if stock continues to be slowly drip-fed to gamers then the balance between generations might become more evenly matched.

In other top-of-the-table news, FIFA has been releasing its Team of the Season cards comprised of the best players from across Europe's best leagues. This week is the Italian Serie A, next week is the French Ligue Un, and the week after will be a mega-earner for EA with a drop of mixed-league TOTS cards. For those of you uninterested in the world of football, this is all to say the game is going to maintain a top seven space for at least the next month before a potential summer drop off. No, wait. I forgot: Euro 2020 is being played this summer and will inevitably have some special cards. My bad, everyone. I saw a glimmer of hope in your eyes and now I've taken it away. Strap yourself in for a summer of FIFA.

Resident Evil has some exciting news for the PS5, however. Around 22,500 are playing on PS5 and around 18,500 are playing on PS4. PS5 is certainly picking up traction in single player-games, it seems. A little further down the table, in 13th and up by three spots, is Mass Effect: Legendary Edition. It is worth noting that we publish these articles on a Monday, making this its first full week on the chart. So the leap up the list is certainly a logical one, but impressive for the remaster nonetheless.

However, the other major single-player PS5 release was Returnal two weeks ago. This is the first major exclusive to release on the new system, so one would expect players to be rallying around Housemarque's first AAA attempt. And indeed, the player count speaks to the fact that Returnal has been limited by PS5 shortages. The highest it has ever charted was 12th and it has now dropped out of the top 20. Most PlayStation exclusive games manage to crack the top ten at least once, but Returnal has had quite a hard time when looking at the player count across all consoles. However, and this is an essential bit of data, it is the still the third most played game on PS5. Cold War has 19,600, RE Village has 18,500, and then Returnal has 13,800. On top of this, the game undoubtedly has an exciting future. The title might pick up steam with the player-base by way of gameplay altering updates and, if Sony is willing, a small price drop to a more enticing £40/$50 might help its cause. Getting more PS5s into the hands of gamers should see a steady influx of players looking for an exclusive title to justify their hardware. A combination of these factors might see the roguelike creep up the gameplay chart in the future and help send Sony a message that unique and niche titles deserve funding.

Speaking of PlayStation exclusives, spots 18, 19, and 20 are occupied by Days Gone, The Last of Us: Part II, and Horizon Zero Dawn. Days Gone and Horizon Zero Dawn have been free for some time now through the PS+ Collection, Plus Monthly Games, and the Play at Home initiative. It would be disappointing not to see them in the chart for their seventh and fifth weeks with a respectable player count of around 15,000 each. The real interesting one is seeing The Last of Us: Part II wedged in there for its first appearance on the gameplay chart for some time, rising from 47th all the way to 19th. The next-gen 60fps patch has got people returning to the grim excellence of the Seattle-based story.

The PlayStation Plus games have had a really peculiar set of results this week. Battlefield V remains very strong despite dropping three places to sixth. Over two years of content and quality-of-life updates later, it now appears to finally have a little bit of staying power. Though it won't ever compete with Call of Duty, it is a good sign that a BF6 announcement might pique more interest amongst the 40,000 PlayStation gamers currently flying planes into tanks. Considering the lukewarm reception to the rumoured WW2 sequel for Call of Duty 2021, getting BFV out there might help tire general FPS players of the WW2 setting and perfectly set everyone up for the potential near-future warfare of the next Battlefield. A smart move on EA's part, then.

Wreckfest has suffered from a heavy player drop-off from two weeks ago. It just missed the to 20 last week at 21st, and is now lounging at 26th. Unlike Battlefield, it doesn't seem to have that staying power despite having a superb single-player and a passionate online community. Stranded Deep has taken the hardest hit, falling from 14th all the way down to 25th. The game isn't particularly long, so I imagine gamers have finished it up in the last week and are thus letting it float away from their consoles.

The only other notable news is that Overwatch: Origins Edition has seen a bump to 15th after being left out of the top 20 at 22nd last week. This comes on the back of the news about Overwatch 2 and the anniversary patch which arrived last week.

What are your key takeaways? Anything you're expecting to rise? We have been loving the comments recently, so keep them coming down below!
Kes Eylers-Stephenson
Written by Kes Eylers-Stephenson
Editor-in-Chief Kes is our resident expert in PlayStation and Sony news. He writes about PS5 games like The Witcher IV, Assassin’s Creed Shadows, and Kingdom Come Deliverance II using experience from years of PlayStation gaming. He also covers PS Plus news and some of the best PS5 games — Uncharted, God of War, and The Last of Us — before an evening swim.
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