PlayStation Gameplay Chart: PS+ monthly games make major impact

By Kes Eylers-Stephenson,

Which games have been played most over the last week? Well, outside of the normal top contenders it has been a strong outing for the PS+ monthly games Virtua Fighter 5 and Star Wars: Squadrons while PlayStation exclusives have slipped down the chart. Here is the top 40 PlayStation Gameplay Chart for the week ending June 6th, 2021.

Position	Game	Publisher	Last week
1	Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	Activision	1
2	Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War	Activision	2
3	Fortnite	Epic Games	3
4	Grand Theft Auto V	Rockstar	5
5	FIFA 21	Electronic Arts	4
6	Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown	SEGA	-
7	Rocket League	Psyonix	6
8	Apex Legends	Electronic Arts	7
9	Star Wars: Squadrons	Electronic Arts	-
10	Battlefield V	Electronic Arts	8
11	Minecraft	Mojang Studios	11
12	Destiny 2	Activision	10
13	Resident Evil Village	Capcom Entertainment	9
14	Genshin Impact	miHoYo	13
15	Overwatch: Origins Edition	Blizzard Entertainment	15
16	Mass Effect: Legendary Edition	Electronic Arts	14
17	Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout	Devolver Digital	16
18	Horizon Zero Dawn	Sony Interactive Entertainment	17
19	Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege	Ubisoft	18
20	Assassin's Creed Valhalla	Ubisoft	19
21	NBA 2K21	2K Sports	24
22	Dead by Daylight 1/2	505 Games	21
23	Red Dead Redemption 2	Rockstar	23
24	Days Gone	Sony Interactive Entertainment	20
25	Final Fantasy VII Remake	Square Enix	33
26	Ghost of Tsushima	Sony Interactive Entertainment	27
27	Knockout City	Electronic Arts	12
28	Operation: Tango	Clever Plays	-
29	Mortal Kombat 11	Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment	28
30	The Last of Us Part II	Sony Interactive Entertainment	25
31	Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn	Square Enix	29
32	Returnal	Sony Interactive Entertainment	26
33	Wreckfest	THQ Nordic	31
34	Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales	Sony Interactive Entertainment	34
35	No Man's Sky	Hello Games	-
36	Marvel's Spider-Man	Sony Interactive Entertainment	35
37	Warframe	Digital Extremes	37
38	Gran Turismo Sport	Sony Computer Entertainment	39
39	Super Bomberman R Online	Konami Digital Entertainment	32
40	MLB The Show 21	Sony Interactive Entertainment	40

Chart compiled using gameplay data from over 557,000 active PlayStation accounts. Chart information is copyright TrueGaming Network.

Let's start at the top because it is absolutely Boring Central Station in Uninteresting City and I want it out of my sight. Who's that mulling around the platform? Oh, don't worry, it's just Warzone (1), Cold War (2), Fortnite (3), GTA V (4), FIFA 21 (5), Rocket League (7), and Apex Legends (8). They are here, all the time, every time I look, just ad infinitum. But wait? What is that chugging into the station? Choo-choo! Some new arrivals!

The PS+ monthly games have made a big splash amongst gamers, just like the previous two months. Sega's Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown has landed at 6th, splitting Rocket League and Apex from the throng of Boring Central Station dwellers (I'm done now, I promise). This marks Sega's re-entry into the fighting game scene with an old-school IP. So, if the amount of times VF has been booted up is an indication of success, then Sega has absolutely got a competitive fighter on their hands. For a more qualitative conclusion, we should look to next week's chart to see if it maintains position in the top ten. If it can hold out, then that would be a confirmation of a general audience staying power.

VF's position on the chart is particularly impressive considering the other free game is a Star Wars title. Albeit, Squadrons is a smaller Star Wars game in which you play as a starfighter pilot jetting across space and gunning down foes. This Motive Studios game was published by EA. The company suddenly found a want to produce good Star Wars games with the release of Fallen Order just before its exclusivity deal with Disney ran out. Seeing the game this high suggests it is being enjoyed by many, but let's wait and see if this was a novelty addition to the library for most players.

Now, the other PS+ game for the month was PS5's Operation: Tango. The game is straggling down in 28th on its first time on the chart. Let's take a second, though, to place it amongst the PS5 games. Here, it ranks as the third most played game and beats out both Returnal and FIFA 21. Not bad for a smaller release in which co-op is enforced!

A noteworthy mention that sits in 10th is Battlefield V. Since being free as part of the May PS+ games, it has been hanging in and around the top 10. The game is still being played extensively by players, a marked return to popularity after a catastrophic launch and initial lack of content. This marks a resurgence in player interest for the next entry into the franchise, which will be revealed on Thursday, June 10th. As an aside, the fact that it only began hitting these heights after becoming free suggests that gamers might not have felt that that the game offered much of a value proposition at any price.

From 10th until 20th, there are a few interesting picks. Resident Evil: Village drops from 9th to 13th, and Mass Effect: Legendary Edition drops two places to 16th. For these two single-player games — in a chart dominated by live service and primarily online titles — that is no mean feat. Clearly, players are still getting through the main stories and haven't yet tired of creepy houses and space odysseys.

Horizon Zero Dawn is now the only PlayStation Studios exclusive left in the top 20. Though, again, Returnal is 4th on the PS5 gameplay chart despite lounging at 32nd across all platforms. Day's Gone is down four at 24th and Ghost of Tsushima is actually up one at 26th. The Last of Us: Part II has dropped by five positions to 30th, indicating that game patch hype has worn off a little. The Days of Play sale is giving a discount to most of these games — as well as Demon Souls, Sackboy: A Big Adventure, and Mile Morales (34) — but most only have a paltry amount knocked off which has left them without the usual major increase in players after a sale.

Well then! Any chops and changes I've missed? Did you enjoy your trip to Boring Central? Get in the comments to discuss away!

Chart

Written by Kes Eylers-Stephenson

Editor Kes is our resident expert in PlayStation and other gaming news. He writes about PS5 exclusives like The Last of Us and Horizon, PS Plus news, and his favorite games — The Witcher, Assassin’s Creed, and God of War — before an evening swim.