Sony has unveiled the Top 20 most downloaded games of 2021 on the PlayStation Store, in Europe and North America. And the least we can say is that tastes are different from one continent to another…
2021 was another surprising year in the world, but also in video games with new delays over the months of highly anticipated games before ending with a traffic jam of releases. But players still found their happiness there, on PlayStation 5 for the lucky ones who managed to get their hands on it.
To take a definitive look at the past year, PlayStation has unveiled the ranking of the most downloaded games on its PlayStation Store, whether for PS4 or PS5. And the least we can say is that North American and European players don’t quite look alike.
PS5: sport outclasses exclusives
Even if the new generation of consoles is only beginning to deliver its batch of blockbusters and exclusives, and even more are expected in 2022, there were still some in 2021, especially on PS5. And paradoxically, looking at the ranking of downloads, the latter have been rather discreet.
Arrived at the end of 2020 for the launch of the PS5, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales had all year to find takers as the console began to arrive in homes. Insomniac Games’ game ends 2021 in 3rd place in the USA/Canada and 4th in Europe behind the essentials Call of Duty: Vanguard (released at the very end of the year, however), FIFA 22 for some and NBA 2K22 for the others, the usual sure values. Same FIFA 21 manages to overtake it in Europe.
Yes Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart was eagerly awaited and is in 6th position in North America, it is not even in the Top 10 in Europe (14th) which preferred the little pearl Kena: Bridge of Spirits (7th). The PS5 exclusives have obviously not been successful in downloads (but possibly in a box version), because Returnal is content with a 19th place in America and is absent from the Top 20 in Europe. death loop does not do much better (18th and 19th).
Named game of the year at the recent Game Awards, It takes two is quite far from the most popular games despite its success in esteem (16th and 9th). In contrast, Among Us is the little surprise of the lot, in Europe anyway. Available since December only, it already ends 2021 in 6th place on PS5 (13th in North America) and 19th on PS4 for players from the Old Continent.
PS4: GTA V, eternal superstar
Released in 2013 and already passed through two generations of consoles awaiting the highly anticipated appearance on the third, Grand Theft Auto V will have made the happiness of very many players. And Rockstar Games’ game feels forever. For the umpteenth year, it thus rose to the top of the ranking of best sellers on the PS Store in the United States and Canada, contenting itself with 2nd place in Europe where FIFA 22 is also king.
Minecraft does a solid 3rd on all continents while call of duty manages to place his last two opuses in the Top 10 (and even COD Modern Warfare in 11th in North America). Note the surprising presence of The Crew 2 released in 2018 (5th in Europe) which still has its aficionados or even The Witcher 3 which undoubtedly benefits European players from the effects of the Netflix series.
As on PS5, the differences between European and American players are particularly at the level of sports games. Across the Atlantic, American sports carve out the lion’s share with NBA 2K22 and NBA 2K21, Madden NFL 22, MLB The Show 21 and the game of catch UFC 4. In Europe, FIFA 22 and FIFA 21 remain the tenors with the presence also of NBA 2K21 in the Top 20, but not his successor.
The other rankings
On the other hand, on the PlayStation VR side, and pending the arrival of the new version, sales were the same on each side of the Atlantic. It must be said that the offer is not bloated either and the podium is absolutely the same. Astro Bot Rescue Mission made him resistance in Europe.
And for games free-to-play available on PS4 and PS5, no surprise Fortnite is a leader. It must be said that the showdown between Epic Games and Apple as well as Google, which both expelled it from their store, prompted a good number of players to fall back on the console versions to continue. Rocket League continues its rise by making more and more followers.
The ranking of the most downloaded PS VR games in 2021 // Source: Sony
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