Three-tier Xbox Game Pass rival revealed
The world’s worst-kept secret is finally out — Sony Interactive Entertainment has revealed its revamped PlayStation Plus service, which is set to launch in June 2022, bringing with it a three-tier subscription service, a library of “700+” video games, and additional features and services.
“Today, we are pleased to share with you official news about changes coming to our subscription services,” wrote SIE President Jim Ryan on the PlayStation Blog. “This June, we’re bringing together PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now in an all-new PlayStation Plus subscription service that provides more choice to customers across three membership tiers globally.
“Our focus is on providing high-quality, curated content with a diverse portfolio of games.”
Ryan goes on to state that PlayStation is working with both in-house and third-party studios to deliver a library of titles crossing a wide variety of genres.
Some of the smash-hit titles expected to launch alongside the service in June are Kojima Production’s Death Stranding, Sony Santa Monica’s God of War, Insomniac’s Marvel’s Spider-Man & Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, NetherRealm’s Mortal Kombat 11, and Housemarque’s Returnal. In addition, games will be made available from PlayStation’s legacy catalog. These include downloadable titles on PlayStation, PS2, and PlayStation Portable (PSP), and streamed titles on PS3.
The three new PlayStation Plus subscription services, (and their respective prices), are as follows:
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.
- Provides the same benefits that PlayStation Plus members are getting today, such as:
- 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
- United States
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
- United States
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
- United States
- PlayStation Plus Deluxe (Select Markets) For markets without cloud streaming, PlayStation Plus Deluxe will be offered at a lower price compared to Premium, and includes a catalog of beloved classic games from the original PlayStation, PS2 and PSP generations to download and play, along with time-limited game trials. Benefits from Essential and Extra tiers are also included. Local pricing will vary by market.
While the new PlayStation Plus service is set up to be a clear contender to Xbox’s already hugely successful Xbox Game Pass, Ryan has recently suggested that the revamped PS Plus is not likely to feature brand new exclusive titles (for example, God of War: Ragnarok) made available on launch day.
“[Regarding] putting our own games into this service, or any of our services, upon their release… as you well know, this is not a road that we’ve gone down in the past,” said Ryan in an interview with GamesIndustry.biz. “And it’s not a road that we’re going to go down with this new service. We feel if we were to do that with the games that we make at PlayStation Studios, that virtuous cycle will be broken. The level of investment that we need to make in our studios would not be possible.”
“We think the knock-on effect on the quality of the games that we make would not be something that gamers want.”
