PlayStation Plus is set to get an overhaul in June, adding three tiers of service, hundreds of games, and adding a serious rival to Microsoft’s game pass service.
It’s been years in the making, but Sony has finally unveiled plans to shake up its subscription gaming services, and hopefully provide an adequate competitor to the behemoth that is the Xbox game Pass. The news that Sony is making a change dropped on the official PlayStation blog last night and comes straight from Jim Ryan, President & CEO, Sony Interactive Entertainment. In what seems to be a move to amalgamate the PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now businesses, the revamped PlayStation Plus will provide the same benefits that are currently available, but with a ton of added games. Three payment tiers arrive alongside the new model, coming in at $9.99 , $14.99 , or $17.99 with local costs varying. The full break down of exactly what you will get for your cash is below.
PlayStation Plus Essential
Benefits:
Provides the same benefits that PlayStation Plus members are getting today, such as:
Two monthly downloadable games
Exclusive discounts
Cloud storage for saved games
Online multiplayer access
There are no changes for existing PlayStation Plus members in this tier.
Price* for PlayStation Plus Essential remains the same as the current price for PlayStation Plus.
United States
$9.99 monthly / $24.99 quarterly / $59.99 yearly
Europe
€8.99 monthly / €24.99 quarterly / €59.99 yearly
United Kingdom
£6.99 monthly / £19.99 quarterly / £49.99 yearly
Japan
¥850 monthly / ¥2,150 quarterly / ¥5,143 yearly
PlayStation Plus Extra
Benefits:
Provides all the benefits from the Essential tier
Adds a catalog of up to 400* of the most enjoyable PS4 and PS5 games – including blockbuster hits from our PlayStation Studios catalog and third-party partners. Games in the Extra tier are downloadable for play.
Price*:
United States
$14.99 monthly / $39.99 quarterly / $99.99 yearly
Europe
€13.99 monthly / €39.99 quarterly / €99.99 yearly
United Kingdom
£10.99 monthly / £31.99 quarterly / £83.99 yearly
Japan
¥1,300 monthly / ¥3,600 quarterly / ¥8,600 yearly
PlayStation Plus Premium
Benefits:
Provides all the benefits from Essential and Extra tiers
Adds up to 340* additional games, including:
PS3 games available via cloud streaming
A catalog of beloved classic games available in both streaming and download options from the original PlayStation, PS2 and PSP generations
Offers cloud streaming access for original PlayStation, PS2, PSP and PS4 games offered in the Extra and Premium tiers in markets** where PlayStation Now is currently available. Customers can stream games using PS4 and PS5 consoles, and PC.***
Time-limited game trials will also be offered in this tier, so customers can try select games before they buy.
Price*:
United States
$17.99 monthly / $49.99 quarterly / $119.99 yearly
Europe
€16.99 monthly / €49.99 quarterly / €119.99 yearly
United Kingdom
£13.49 monthly / £39.99 quarterly / £99.99 yearly
Japan
¥1,550 – monthly / ¥4,300 – quarterly / ¥10,250 yearly
What’s obvious is that this change is a very direct cut and shut of the PlayStation Now steaming service. The announcement confirms that “When the new PlayStation Plus service launches, PlayStation Now will transition into the new PlayStation Plus offering and will no longer be available as a standalone service.”, meaning that there’s no commitment to improving the quality of the service or brining the same ray tracing capabilities that platforms like GeForce Now are capable of.
While the attempt is laudable, I’m certainly going to be keeping tabs on this until we see more. Find out everything about the new PlayStation Plus Premium offering on the official PlayStation blog.
