Sony PS4 Platinum Trophies 1

Regardless of whether you care about Trophies or not, they’ve clearly established themselves as an enormous part of PlayStation culture. Introduced over a decade ago alongside titles like Super Stardust HD, they’ve often felt like an afterthought. But in recent years there’s clearly been a concerted effort from Sony’s studios to create compelling Trophy lists that many consumers are seeing through to completion.

It’s something we first noticed with Horizon Zero Dawn, a game which requires investment but can be Platinumed without too much forward planning. To date, around 6 per cent of the title’s community have unlocked the top trinket, which is significantly higher than the amount of people who unlocked The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s most prestigious pot (1.2 per cent). As an isolated incident, this data isn’t all that compelling, but it’s become a consistent theme of Sony’s first-party exclusives.

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Let’s take a look at the data:

Game Global Platinum Completion Rate
Horizon Zero Dawn 6.0%
God of War 4.9%
Marvel's Spider-Man 8.6%
Days Gone 5.6%
The Last of Us: Part II 2.7%

The Last of Us: Part II has barely been out a month, meaning that its Platinum completion rate is almost certain to trend up. Compare the statistic to the six-year-old The Last of Us Remastered (0.4 per cent), however, and it's clear that this has been a conscious effort from the platform holder to encourage fans to eke more value out of its games.

So what’s the consistent theme here? Well, the manufacturer seems to have realised that not everyone enjoys difficulty-themed Trophies – in fact, it’s hard to imagine any of the Japanese giant’s major titles shipping with a Crushing-style trinket like the original Uncharted games anymore. In some cases, like Horizon Zero Dawn and Days Gone, difficulty Trophies are separate from the main Trophy list.

There’s too much consistency between titles for this to be a coincidence, and Sony would have the data on how Trophies can encourage players to stick with their titles longer. While The Last of Us: Part II does demand you collect every single collectible, it’s interesting how open world releases like Days Gone and Ghost of Tsushima let you settle for just a proportion of them. In fact, you can find out more about the latter's list in our Ghost of Tsushima: All Trophies and How to Get the Platinum guide.

Does an achievable Trophy list affect how long you stick with a title? Are you much more likely to dig in for longer when the Platinum is within your reach? And how do you feel about Sony’s Trophy lists these days? Are they perhaps a little too easy for your personal tastes? Unlock the most prestigious pot in the comments section below.