Brand New PS5 Update Adding Feature That Steam Users Have Had for Years

by

The PlayStation 5 is now displaying how many players are currently enjoying the top 10 games each week – a feature similar to what Steam offers. This is a new level of openness for PlayStation, as they haven’t previously shared player count information publicly, so it’s a welcome change for many gamers.

For years, PC gamers have been able to see how many people are playing games on Steam, thanks to tools like SteamDB which started around 2013. Valve even created its own official Steam Charts in 2022, showing current player numbers for all games, along with top sellers and the most popular titles. Console gamers on Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 don’t have this feature. They usually have to guess how many people are playing based on estimates, what the game shows in-game, or information released by the game developers. PC gamers, however, can instantly see which games are currently popular on Steam.

Sony Quietly Launches Player Count Tracking on PS5

Hey, so it looks like Sony’s finally letting us see how many people are actually playing games on PS5! I’m part of the beta program, and my Welcome Hub just got updated with a new section showing the top 10 most played games, and also a ‘Trending’ tab. The ‘Trending’ tab is cool because it shows which games have seen the biggest jump in players recently. Basically, it’s not just about total playtime, but who’s hopping on right now. The ‘Top 10’ tab just shows the most popular games by pure player count for the week. No word yet on when this will hit all PS5s, but other beta testers are saying they got the update in the latest patch.

Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.

Easy (5)Medium (7)Hard (10)

Your Order

Results

—

— —

More Games

If PlayStation 5 adds a feature showing how many people are playing each game, it would be a first for consoles. It’s surprising this hasn’t been available before, as players have been asking for it for a while. The new ‘Trending’ tab looks particularly helpful for finding popular games, whether they’re newly viral or have just received an update. The ‘Top 10’ tab is also a good addition, though it currently features the games you’d expect – like Fortnite, Call of Duty, and Grand Theft Auto 5 – according to one video. However, Grand Theft Auto 6 is likely to shake things up when it’s released.

While the new feature showing player counts on PS5 is a welcome addition, some players are worried it could create a negative environment. Discussions about games on platforms like Reddit and Twitter might become overly critical, especially for popular titles like Call of Duty and Battlefield 6, which often see comparisons of player numbers. Some fans quickly interpret dips in player counts as a sign a game is failing, even if that isn’t accurate. This update offers more transparency, but it also risks fueling unnecessary negativity around game performance and new releases.

The PS5 still lacks many of the social features that were available on the PS4. Things like dedicated communities and a central news feed are currently missing, making the experience feel less connected than before. While you can see popular games and trends, the PS5 could benefit from more ways to interact with other players. Hopefully, Sony will address this by adding more social features based on player feedback before the next console generation.

Read More

2026-05-16 03:35