Launch week stats: SAROS (PS5)

SAROS reached an estimated launch week audience in the 250-500K range, roughly matching Returnal, according to PlayTracker player engagement data.

Data shown above is raw player count on PlayTracker, but we apply a sophisticated sampling bias correction algorithm to generate our total worldwide owner estimates.

Most of that audience was retained from Housemarque's previous game Returnal: over 90% of SAROS players also played Returnal on PlayStation. While 10% of SAROS players also played Returnal on Steam, almost all of those were double dip buyers who had already played the same game on PlayStation.

The user personalities for SAROS showcase how the game is hitting a more hardcore audience compared to most PlayStation Studios games:

The top audience overlap further supports this, showing SAROS shares players the most with Death Stranding 2 and Returnal which attracted a similar type of user.

DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH

20% audience match with SAROS

Deathloop

16% audience match with SAROS

Returnal

15% audience match with SAROS

FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH

15% audience match with SAROS

Note that overlap between two games actually has three values: overlap as a percentage of game #1's audience, overlap as a percentage of game #2's audience, and overlap as a percentage of the two audiences combined. For calculating related games we use the third value as it controls for differences in audience size and provides the most relevant results.

Games like Spider-Man and God of War overlap with one another the most, and attract a measurably more casual audience: smaller library, higher average game popularity, lower genre diversity.

If it continues to keep pace with Returnal, SAROS has a long road ahead of it as players continue to trickle in, and particularly when it eventually hits PlayStation Plus - over half of Returnal's ~4M players on PlayStation played via PS+.

Then there's the PC question lingering in the air. Renowned games industry writer Jason Schreier has reported that Sony is pulling back from releasing PlayStation games on PC, which includes SAROS.

Meanwhile on Steam, Returnal continues to sell well - we estimate it is in the ~500K range as of the time of writing - which means it is closing the gap to sales on PlayStation (PS+ players excluded).

For more interesting stats, keep your eyes on PlayTracker Insight.