While you might expect PlayStation Studios games to be the biggest hits on Sony's subscription service, our data suggests that the best PS Plus games tend to fall into two categories: day-one launch games and GTA. Nice as it is to see PS Plus Extra and PlayStation Studios teaming up to offer games like The Last of Us Part I, subscriber interests may lie beyond Sony's first-party games.
Lee —
PS Plus Extra subscribers show up for GTA and day-one games
- The Last of Us Part I recently debuted on PS Plus Extra and quickly became the ninth-biggest game to ever hit the subscription service
- While a considerable success, this Sony first-party game debuted with less PS Plus subscriber attention than The Plucky Squire last month
- The top 6 PS Plus Extra games are all day-one launch titles or Grand Theft Auto games
Using a gameplay data sample from over 3.1 million active PSN accounts (courtesy of our partnership with GameInsights, which draws the majority of its PSN data from sources beyond TrueTrophies), we've been able to track the debut player count of every new PS5 and PS4 game that arrives on PS Plus Extra.
That data sample has provided us with The Last of Us Part I's PS Plus player count after the game joined PS Plus Extra's Game Catalog on Thursday, September 26, 2024. The PlayStation Studios title quickly became the third-biggest PS Plus Extra game of 2024 (so far) and the ninth-biggest PS Plus Extra game to hit the service since its launch in 2022.
Naughty Dog's PS5 remake debuts just two spots down the all-time top 10 list from fellow PlayStation Studio title Horizon Forbidden West (which has since left the service). As you might expect, Sony's first-party games tend to garner some attention when they arrive on PS Plus Extra. However, with six other games outranking Sony's own efforts, it also seems like subscribers might have other preferences.
Biggest PS Plus Extra games of all time (so far)
#1 — Stray (July 2022)
#2 — Grand Theft Auto V (December 2023)
#3 — Grand Theft Auto Vice City The Definitive Edition (October 2022)
#4 — Dave the Diver (April 2024)
#5 — The Plucky Squire (September 2024)
#6 — Sea of Stars (August 2023)
#7 — Horizon Forbidden West (February 2023)
#8 — Back 4 Blood (January 2023)
#9 — The Last of Us Part I (September 2024)
#10 — Police Simulator Patrol Officers (June 2024)As you can see from the chart above, the six games that outrank all PlayStation Studios games on PS Plus Extra are Stray, Grand Theft Auto V, Grand Theft Auto Vice City The Definitive Edition, Dave the Diver, The Plucky Squire, and Sea of Stars.
Aside from the two Grand Theft Auto games in that lineup, the four other chart toppers all have one common trait between them: they were all PS Plus Extra day-one releases. Each of these games released on PS Plus Extra the same day they launched on PS5, making these new titles instantly accessible to subscribers.
It suggests that PS Plus Extra subscribers really value this aspect of the subscription scheme: access to new PS5 and PS4 games. Sony maintains a long-standing policy that keeps its own first-party games from launching on PS Plus on day one, so often these PlayStation Studios games arrive at least a year after hitting retail.
That lack of novelty seems to be the main factor keeping PlayStation Studios games from dominating PS Plus Extra. We could even see that contrast play out when The Plucky Squire's PS Plus Extra player count topped The Last of Us Part I's performance last month. With only a week separating the two PS Plus debuts, The Plucky Squire day-one launch managed to pull in 8% more subscribers than the beloved Naughty Dog title.
Biggest PS Plus Extra games of all time (cont.)
#11 — Devil May Cry 5 (January 2023)
#12 — Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart (May 2023)
#13 — Teardown (November 2023)
#14 — Tchia (March 2023)
#15 — Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredder's Revenge (June 2023)
#16 — Red Dead Redemption 2 (July 2024 re-entry)
#17 — Remnant II (July 2024)
#18 — Far Cry 6 (June 2023)
#19 — The Quarry (February 2023)
#20 — Cult of the Lamb (August 2024)Looking further down the list of the biggest PS Plus Extra debuts, we can spy another PlayStation Studios title — Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart — sitting comfortably in the #12 spot.
However, as well as a few more strong third-party releases like Devil May Cry 5 and Back 4 Blood, we can also see two more day-one PS Plus Extra games on the list: Teardown and Tchia. It seems for every PlayStation Studios success on PS Plus, there are two successful day-one third-party game launches there to match it.
Lee —
Sony's day-one PS Plus Extra strategy could go bigger
By comparison, PS Plus Extra has released 12 day-one launch titles so far — more than double the amount of PS Studios games we've seen on the service. While only two of these games (Humanity and Mystic Pillars Remastered) failed to outperform Uncharted, the odds are still overwhelming in favor of the day-one games.
So, to some degree, it shouldn't be too surprising to see day-one games getting the lion's share of subscriber attention on PS Plus Extra. In that same vein, it's also not surprising to see Grand Theft Auto on any list that involves popular PS5 and PS4 games — these games are bigger than anything Sony has ever produced and they will always draw a crowd.
Still, it makes one wonder what Sony could achieve if it were to bring one of its own PlayStation Studios titles to the subscription service. It's a financial risk the company clearly isn't willing to take, but then again, if the extravagant cost of Concord has taught us anything, it's that Sony might not always know what best to do with its first-party games.
Had Concord launched as PlayStation Studios' first day-one PS Plus Extra game, might it have unseated the indomitable Stray from the #1 spot? Almost certainly not — Stray's PS Plus debut saw 55.6% more players than GTA V, for heaven's sake. Still, Concord might have had a stronger PS Plus debut than The Plucky Squire, that's all I'm saying.
Beyond that, presuming Sony's policies aren't going to change any day soon, the biggest takeaway here is that PS Plus Extra needs more day-one games. These hits can even outperform Sony's own titles! It seems like the safest bet for Sony to continue to keep subscribers happy without risking the sales of their PlayStation Studios releases.
In the meantime, if you want more day-one PlayStation Studios games on PS Plus, you'll want to check out the best PS Plus Premium games. They're not 'new' games, but at least Sony launches PS2 games on PS Plus Premium and PS5 on the same day! Do you think Sony should gamble on bringing a day-one first-party game to PS Plus Extra? Let us know in the comments below.
Chart compiled using gameplay data from over 3.1 million active PlayStation accounts (not just TrueTrophies accounts). Chart information is copyright
GameInsights. Regarding this data:
- When an account opens a game, this is registered as a game being played. Accounts can only register a game once per week.
- Our data is good for suggesting general trends — we represent this using percentages, not numbers.