How the Playlin 40 works

What the chart measures

The Playlin 40 ranks the most popular daily games on Playlin each week, based on launches and favorites.

Rankings carry momentum from week to week, so positions reflect sustained activity rather than a single day’s spike.

Which games are eligible

Any game listed on Playlin can chart if it is free to play, does not require an account to play, and has a daily reset.

Editorial placement counts

Launches and favorites that originate from Playlin’s editorial surfaces count toward the chart. That includes featured slots, Added This Week, ICYMI, collections, Meet the Makers, and any other placement chosen on editorial merit.

The reasoning: editorial placement is exposure, not activity. A player still has to choose to launch or favorite the game. Separating “organic” play from “editorially surfaced” play would require attribution we can’t make cleanly.

Paid placement does not count

Launches and favorites that originate from a paid placement on Playlin are excluded from chart scoring. This applies to sponsored slots, paid promotion, and any future placement a creator or studio pays for. It covers actions taken directly from the placement, and actions taken on the game page it opens. Once a player navigates elsewhere on Playlin, they are back to ordinary activity.

What happens afterward is ordinary activity. If a player discovers a game through a paid placement and comes back on their own, those launches and favorites count like anyone else’s.

The reasoning: a chart that can be purchased stops being a signal. Paid placement can buy a game’s introduction to players. It cannot buy its position.

In practice

Being featured can help a game get discovered, and the resulting plays and favorites count. Paying for placement can help a game get discovered, and the plays and favorites from that placement do not. Players who return on their own count either way.

Review

Every chart is reviewed before it publishes, and activity that appears automated is excluded. This policy is reviewed as Playlin’s traffic and placement options change. Any change to what counts will be documented and dated here.

Effective September 2026.