Sony today released a list of the top ten most downloaded titles of 2018, and while many of the same faces have made an appearance on PSVR’s chart again, including the platform’s launch day juggernaut Job Simulator at the number one (again), popular VR rhythm game Beat Saber has surprisingly vaulted its way to the number two spot with little more than a month on the PlayStation Store.
We’ve broken it down further below, but here’s the chart upfront without further ado:
2018’s Top 10 Most Downloaded PSVR Games
- Job Simulator (2016)
- Beat Saber (2018)
- Superhot VR (2017)
- PlayStation VR Worlds (2016)
- Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality (2017)
- Arizona Sunshine (2017)
- Moss (2018)
- Until Dawn: Rush of Blood (2016)
- Driveclub VR (2016)
- Surgeon Simulator: Experience Reality (2016)
Reigning supreme now three years in a row is Job Simulator, a day-one launch title when PSVR released in October 13th, 2016. Created by Owlchemy Labs, the game is a tongue-in-cheek parody of a typical work day in a number of jobs, albeit through the distorted lens of robotic historians who have filled in the missing gaps with their own cracked interpretations. It’s so simple that anyone can play, even a 6-year old kid, making it an awesome first game for anyone looking to futz around in VR, or just absorb the ridiculous comedy that is ‘jobbing’.
We’re hoping to see another hit from Owlchemy Labs with their upcoming sequel Vacation Simulator, which is touted as a more expansive game than Job Simulator, aiming to be a longer, more narrative-driven experience.
Beat Saber from Beat Games took the number two slot this year, and the most surprising part is the block-slashing rhythm game only came to the PlayStation Store on November 20th, 2018, giving it a little under six weeks to vault to the number two spot.
Admittedly the game has had enormous benefit thanks to its success on Steam and Oculus Store Early Access. The game also comes alongside Borderlands 2 VR (2018) in a PSVR hardware bundle that saw a significant cost reduction during the holidays, bringing it to only $250. Borderlands 2 VR however didn’t make the top ten, which shows just how much built-in demand there was for the incredibly fun and easy to pick-up rhythm game. Yes, there are more song packs coming. No, we don’t know when.
Many of the games above made an appearance in last year’s chart, including Superhot VR, PlayStation VR Worlds, Until Dawn: Rush of Blood, and Driveclub VR.
2017-era games Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality and Arizona Sunshine made a resurgence this year; neither were included in last year’s top ten. Moss, released in February 2018, is the only other game besides Beat Saber to have launched this year.
Notable exceptions this year were The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR (2017), Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes (2016), and Fruit Ninja VR (2016), all of which slid from last year’s top ten. We’re also pretty surprised to see that Astro Bot Rescue Mission (2018) didn’t make the list—a shame considering it not only released before Beat Saber, but was so innovative and highly-polished that we honored it with Road to VR’s 2018 PSVR Game of the Year. That too found its way into a popular PSVR bundle discounted during the holidays, although it was offered as a Blue-Ray disk in the bundle alongside a download voucher code for Moss.
Update (January 15th, 2019): We reached out to Sony to better understand more about what qualifies a game to make the list, and whether bundled download codes count as well. A Sony spokesperson told us the data only includes “games that were purchased through PlayStation Store.”
