PS Plus Extra and Premium records 48% decline in player count this month

PS Plus Extra and Premium libraries were reported to have experienced a major decline in July 2024. The drop was estimated at 48% in July compared to the previous player count in June. The drop resulted in one of the lowest-performing months for PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium in 2024.

July 2024 was a low-performing month for PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium. The player count dropped by approximately 50% from the previous month. The July line-up for PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium had a lower player count despite featuring nine games. 

PS Plus Extra and Premium perform poorly

PS Plus Extra and Premium are subscription-based services that allow console users to get the best gaming experience. These two packages are tiered with different pricing and access to more games. Players can opt to pay for the service monthly, quarterly, or yearly. Of these tiers, the most basic is the PS Plus Essential tier, which offers the fewest games. The Premium Extra and Premium Plus tier packages offer more games.

In July 2024, the PS Plus Extra lineup consisted of nine games. The games included were Remnant 2, No More Heroes 3, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion, Travis Strikes Again, Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord, Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous, Deadcraft, Steep, Job Simulator and The Jackbox Party Pack 9. The Plus Premium tier added three classic games from the PS2 and PSP eras. The classic games were Jeanne d’Arc, Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters, and Summoner. However, despite this extensive lineup of games, the PS Plus Extra and Premium player count dropped by 48.67% from the player count numbers in June.

The drop in PS Extra and Premium player count came during the same period when Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion had an 1171% increase in active player count and also coincided with the time Remnant II was released. Remnant II is the third most popular game on PS Plus Extra in 2024.

The drop in player count resulted in PS Plus Extra and Premium July’s performance ranking as the third-weakest month of 2024.  

Bonus games affect PS Plus Extra and Premium numbers

The report revealed that 14 bonus games added to PS Plus Extra and Premium in June 2024 affected the July player count numbers. In June, the bonus games added included After Us, Far Cry 4, LEGO: The Hobbit, Monster Hunter: Rise, Crusader Kings III, Football Manager 2024, Monster Energy Supercross – The Official Videogame 6, Anno 1800, and Police Simulator: Patrol Officers. The report stated that even when the player count from the bonus games was excluded, July still had an 18.77% player count drop as compared to June.

 “I’ll be honest: Compared to the last 2 months, I got a couple of interesting choices for PS Plus Extra and Premium.”

– guardiancrisis

However, despite the report, players online showed excitement for the PS Plus Extra and Premium catalog for July. guardiancrisis stated that the games offered in July provided a variety of interesting choices for players.