Not a lot of games launch on PlayStation Plus Extra. However, it seems like one of those day-one games made quite a splash, as, according to Sony, Stray brought in the highest number of players for PS Plus Extra in the first 12 months.
Stray and Sony’s first-party games did well
Nick Maguire, vice president and global head of subscriptions at Sony, told GamesIndustry.biz that BlueTwelve Studio’s dystopian cat game was quite successful in its first year and “brought in the highest number of players that have accessed that title over the first 12 months.”
Stray was the first (and only one of three) day-one launches for Extra and was received relatively well and has been hyped since its notable reveal at the PlayStation 5 reveal stream in June 2020. Its popularity was also borne out in the data from the wrap up stats from 2022, as Stray beat out big games like Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and Ghost of Tsushima. It even broke record for concurrent players for publisher Annapurna Interactive on Steam.
Games from PlayStation Studios also did fairly well during PlayStation Plus Extra’s first year. Maguire explained how Ghost of Tsushima topped the charts for most hours played, something that was undoubtedly aided by its lengthy runtime. The game’s Iki Island DLC and Director’s Cut edition was also on the service, giving those who had already played the game more reasons to jump back in. Other games like Horizon Forbidden West and Spider-Man: Miles Morales also had impressive stats.
“Ghost of Tsushima has brought in the highest number of hours of gameplay,” said Maguire. “People have really stuck around and really invested in that game. That goes to the strength of our PS Studios titles, which have seen great engagement and lots of excitement.
“Four of the top ten over the year have been PS Studios titles, whether that’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Horizon Forbidden West and even Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart, which only joined recently – that’s climbing very quickly and growing month-on-month. These exclusive titles are really what’s resonating. It’s bringing people in.”
