Across PlayStation and Xbox consoles, EA Sports FC 24 was the biggest month-on-month active user gainer globally in May 2024 following its giveaway to PlayStation Plus subscribers, which added 4.5m users to its active player base compared to April. Generally, free monthly PS Plus games are only available in a single month, but EA and Sony decided to extend the offer into June to coincide with the start of the UEFA European Football Championship, so we’re likely to see another smaller uplift in June.

With most of the EA Sports FC’s revenue coming from in-game spending, engaging a broader audience through the giveaway is a sound commercial strategy and allows the company to benefit from the interest in football/soccer during the Euros.

More active users have naturally led to more time spent gaming. EA Sports FC 24 ranked number three behind Fortnite and Call of Duty HQ* in terms of total game time during May at 470m hours, up 18% on April. While average engagement was hit due to the influx in more players taking advantage of the free game, it still remained high and only down slightly compared to April.

Subscription services influence the top gainers

Other games finding their way into the top 5 winners in May were Tunic, another free monthly game for PS Plus subscribers. Publisher Finji Games originally launched Tunic straight into Xbox Game Pass, so this marks a different form of commercial experiment as a giveaway title. PlayStation players grew by a million and a massive 6700% month-on-month. Rockstar Games’ Red Dead Redemption 2, which was added to PS Plus Extra and Premium catalogues in May, also increased users 800k month-on-month.