PS5’s New Beta Widget Could Finally Show What Malaysians Are Actually Playing
Sony is testing a new PS5 Welcome Hub widget that could make the console feel a bit more like Steam — at least when it comes to seeing what games are actually hot.
The feature is currently in beta, and it was spotted by YouTuber Mystic, with examples shared from beta participants via Radec. Instead of only showing generic store recommendations, the widget can display two types of charts: the top 10 most-played PS5 games of the week, and a separate “trending now” view based on games or modes that are suddenly gaining traction.
The important part? The data is country-specific, not just global. PlayStation already has a “top games in your country” style banner on the Store, but this beta widget goes further by adding weekly player counts and percentage-based activity spikes.
One example showed Fortnite pulling 14.6 million players in a week. Other listed games included the usual live-service monsters like GTA Online, Minecraft, and Marvel Rivals. No surprise there lah — these games basically live rent-free on every platform’s charts.
But for Malaysian and SEA players, this could actually be more useful than it sounds.
Console discovery has always been a bit blur compared to PC. On Steam, you can quickly see what is selling, what is trending, what suddenly exploded after an update, and what players are reviewing. On PS5, unless a game gets front-page placement or your friend group is talking about it, plenty of good releases just disappear into the Store.
A localised chart could change that. If Sony rolls this out properly, Malaysian PS5 owners may finally get a clearer look at what people here are playing, not just what the US, Japan, or Europe is hyping. That matters for multiplayer games especially. Nobody wants to buy a PvP title only to find dead matchmaking in our region.
The “trending” side is probably the more exciting bit. In the beta examples, Company of Heroes 3 reportedly showed a 249% jump in gameplay hours, while Overwatch saw a 255% increase in matches after a season update. That kind of signal is more useful than a plain top 10 list because it can highlight games that are suddenly alive again after patches, events, or content drops.
For esports and competitive titles, this could be quietly powerful. If a hero shooter, fighting game, or tactical FPS suddenly spikes in Malaysia or SEA, players would see it from the PS5 home screen instead of relying on TikTok clips or Discord chatter. It also gives smaller developers a tiny chance to break through, especially if their game pops off regionally.
Of course, don’t expect full SteamDB-level transparency. Sony is still Sony, and console platforms are usually very careful with player data. Circana analyst Mat Piscatella even joked that third-party publishers would probably start asking for user numbers to be removed almost immediately.
The biggest test will be GTA 6. With the PC version still unconfirmed and the game expected to be huge on PS5, this widget could become one of the easiest ways to see just how ridiculous the launch numbers are. If Sony’s beta survives until then, the GTA 6 chart-watch is going to be spicy.
For now, this is still just a small beta feature. But the direction is good. The PS5 Store needs better discovery, especially for players outside the usual US-centric gaming bubble. If Sony can make the Welcome Hub show what is genuinely popular and trending in your country, that is a win for players, indies, and even sweaty ranked grinders looking for the next active game.
You can sign up for the PlayStation beta program for free if you want to try features like this early.
Source: GamesRadar
