45% of Voters Call June's PS Plus Lineup 'Crap'

Sony revealed June 2026's PS Plus Essential lineup this week: Warhammer 40,000: Darktide, Grounded, and Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2. The reaction, at least from the subscribers who showed up to vote in Push Square's monthly poll, has been brutal. Out of 777 votes, 45% chose "No, it's a crap selection," while another 22% called the games "disappointing." Only 5% said they were "very happy."

A second poll paints an even bleaker picture. When asked which of the three games they were most looking forward to, 63% of 683 respondents picked "None of them, to be honest." Darktide and Grounded split the remaining interest almost evenly at 16% and 15% respectively, while Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 scraped together just 2%.

These are subscriber polls, not scientific research, but the lopsidedness here is hard to ignore. Two-thirds of the people who bothered to vote have zero interest in any of the offerings. That's a rough look for a service that costs money every month.

The All-Multiplayer Problem

Push Square's own Robert Ramsey flagged the likely issue before the poll even closed: all three games lean on multiplayer, whether co-op or competitive. PlayStation's subscriber base skews heavily toward single-player experiences, and handing them a month with no solo-focused option was always going to land poorly. Darktide is a co-op horde shooter, Grounded is a survival game built around co-op, and Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 is a platform fighter. If you're the kind of PS Plus subscriber who wants a narrative-driven single-player game to chew through over a few weekends, June gives you nothing.

I think the frustration is understandable, but the reaction is also a bit harsher than these games deserve individually. Darktide has improved massively since its rough 2024 PS5 launch. Fatshark has overhauled progression, added content, and tightened the core loop to the point where it's one of the better co-op shooters on the platform right now. If you have friends who play, it's an easy recommendation. Grounded is a charming survival game from Obsidian that found a real audience on Xbox and PC. Neither of these are bad games. The problem isn't quality; it's curation. Stacking three multiplayer-focused titles in one month, on a platform where the audience has repeatedly told you they want single-player games, is a self-inflicted wound.

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 pulling just 2% interest is particularly grim, though not surprising. The game struggled to maintain a player base even at launch, and offering it through PS Plus now is less like a highlight and more like clearing inventory.

June's broader PS5 release calendar does at least offer alternatives for people willing to spend outside their subscription. Gothic 1 Remake arrives June 5, Adventures of Elliot on June 18, and Hell Let Loose: Vietnam the same day. But that's cold comfort if you're paying for PS Plus Essential and expecting the monthly drops to occasionally include something you actually want to play. Sony had a strong May with Mixtape and 007 First Light landing for subscribers; June feels like the hangover.