PlayStation 5 now tells you what everyone else is playing, and the new system software update went live today. The update adds a “Most Popular Games of the Week” widget to the Welcome Hub, plus a new speaker indicator for party chats. PS5 Pro owners also get an image quality setting turned on by default.
New Features at a Glance
The system software update version 26.06-14.00.00 brings several new features and fixes. The headline is the popularity widget, which shows the week’s most popular games. There’s also a new option to display who’s speaking in party chats, and PS5 Pro users get Enhance PSSR Image Quality turned on by default.
The update also brings the standard “improved system software performance and stability” that comes with every console update.
How the Popularity Widget Works
The “Most Popular Games of the Week” widget sits in the Welcome Hub. It shows the week’s most popular games, and it’s based on your country. Radec, who posted the announcement on Twitter, noted that it was based on Canada for him.
There are two ways to view the data. The “Top 10” list shows the week’s most popular games, while “Trending Now” displays the top ten multiplayer games or modes that are surging in popularity. These numbers are based on your region.
The widget is a good first step, but it’s not clear how often the list is updated. It’s unclear if the list is updated weekly or on a rolling basis. Either way, it’s the first time PlayStation has rolled out this kind of feature. Before this, the only sense players had of what was popular was the list of top sellers on the PlayStation Store.
Turning On the Speaker Indicator
The speaker indicator is a small change with a big effect. Users can go to the “select more” section of the control center and turn on “Display Who’s Speaking.” When it’s on, the username of whoever is talking flashes on the screen. You can choose what position it appears in.
This is a quality-of-life fix for multiplayer sessions, where knowing who’s speaking can be hard to track. It’s the kind of feature that makes a day-to-day difference.
What the Update Actually Does
The update is not a major shift, but it’s a useful one. The speaker indicator is the kind of feature that makes sense after years of party chat that has always been a little opaque.
The widget is also limited by how it’s displayed. It works in the Welcome Hub, but it’s not clear if it’s updated daily or weekly. That matters for a feature that’s supposed to show what’s happening right now. A widget that shows last week’s trends is useful, but a widget that shows today’s trends is more useful.
There’s still room for PlayStation to do more. The platform could show more data, more often, and make it easier to find. The widget is a start, but it’s only a start.
The Verdict
The update is small, but it’s welcome. The speaker indicator is a fun, useful feature that makes multiplayer sessions clearer. The popularity widget is the bigger deal. It gives players a better sense of what’s actually popular, not just what’s selling.
PlayStation has rolled out this kind of feature for the first time, and it’s a step in the right direction. It’s not a revolution, but it’s a useful one.
The update is live now, so go check it out. See what’s trending, see who’s talking, and see if the same old games dominate the list. It’s a small window, but it’s the first such feature PlayStation has ever offered.
Key facts:
– System software update: version 26.06-14.00.00
– New widget: Most Popular Games of the Week
– Party chat feature: Display Who’s Speaking toggle
– PS5 Pro default setting: Enhance PSSR Image Quality
– Update went live: September 16, 2026
The widget is based on your region, not on sales figures or download counts. That matters for a platform where the store has always shown what’s moving copies, not what people are actually playing.
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