Sony is re-launching its PlayStation Plus game subscription service in June to better compete with Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass. Sony’s revamped PlayStation Plus now will include three different tiers and it’s also absorbing PlayStation Now, the company’s cloud gaming service that used to be sold separately.
Here’s what the three different PlayStation Plus tiers will provide to subscribers:
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PlayStation Plus Essential ($9.99/month or $59.99/year): This new basic tier will offer the same benefits as the existing PlayStation Plus service, with two free games every month, online multiplayer access, exclusive discount, and cloud saves.
PlayStation Plus Extra ($14.99/month or $99.99/year): This new tier will include all PS Plus Essential benefits but provide access to a catalog of up to 400 PS4 and PS5 games to subscribers.
PlayStation Plus Premium ($17.99/month or $119.99/year): This Premium tier will include all Essential and Extra benefits plus access to 340 additional PS1, PS2, PSP, and PS3 games via cloud streaming and downloads (except for PS3 games), as well as time-limited trials.
The new Extra and Premium tiers represent a major evolution for PlayStation Plus. With these tiers, our key focus is to ensure that the hundreds of games we offer will include the best quality content that sets us apart. At launch, we plan to include titles such as Death Stranding, God of War, Marvel’s Spider-Man, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Mortal Kombat 11, and Returnal,” explained Jim Ryan, President & CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment.
In markets where Sony’s cloud streaming service isn’t available, the company plans to offer a more affordable PlayStation Plus Deluxe tier with a catalog PS1, PS2, and PSP games to download and time-limited trials. Sony didn’t share pricing details yet for this fourth tier, though.
Sony plans to start rolling out its new PlayStation Plus tiers gradually, starting with Asian markets in June. North America, Europe, and other PlayStation Plus markets will follow by the end of the first half of 2022. PlayStation Now will also disappear and existing subscribers will be automatically transitioned to the new PlayStation Plus Premium tier at no additional cost.
“With the all-new PlayStation Plus, we’re focused on delivering a compelling game subscription service with curated content from our exclusive PlayStation Studios team and our third-party partners. The newly enhanced PlayStation Plus will enable our fans to discover and engage with more content than ever before, and deepen their connection with the PlayStation community through shared experiences,” Jim Ryan said today.
The only thing that’s missing from the equation is day one access to Sony’s first-party games, something that Microsoft has been offering with Xbox Game Pass for quite a while now. But as Sony manages to sell millions of copies of exclusive games like Spiderman: Miles Morales or Horizon Forbidden West without breaking a sweat, the company may not want to cannibalize sales by putting all these games day one on PlayStation Plus Premium.
chump2010
<p>This is really annoying. I don’t have either console, but I do subscribe to the PS Now subscription. Typically I get it on special for about £40 a year – which gives me streaming access to lots of Playstation games. I quite like the streaming side of things, as opposed to having to download it.</p><p><br></p><p>To get that now, i have to subscribe to the Playstation Premium Plus service which is £99.99. Even on special it will probably still be £80. This is a price which is more in line with Microsoft’s Game Pass (£8 a month), but sitll cheaper than Uplay (£12.99 a month).</p><p><br></p><p>I wonder how many PC only people will decide to drop the PS Now service altogether now. </p><p><br></p><p><br></p>