Sony officially confirmed a reimagined PlayStation Plus, a gaming subscription service that will launch in June. According to analysts and tech insiders, the new service will not only help Sony compete with Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass, but it will also drive sales of Sony’s PlayStation 5 console.
Sony’s new subscription service combines the streaming service PlayStation Now with a PlayStation Plus membership. The new PlayStation Plus service will be available in three tiers when it launches this summer:
The basic package, PlayStation Plus Essential, provides users with two free games per month as well as access to online multiplayer. It costs $10 per month or $60 per year.
The PlayStation Plus Extra, a higher-tier package, offers the same benefits as the PlayStation Plus Essential but also includes 400 downloadable PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 titles. It costs $15 per month or $100 per year. In terms of pricing and benefits, this is Sony’s direct competitor to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
The most expensive tier is called PlayStation Plus Premium, and it includes 340 more games than Extra, as well as the ability to play a variety of PS2, PS3, PSP, PS3, PS4, and PS5 games online. PlayStation Plus Premium is available for $18 per month or $120 per year.
Because the business model for selling video games has changed dramatically since the pandemic, Sony needed to shake up its service offering to compete with Xbox Game Pass, Microsoft’s gaming subscription service that allows users to download and play popular titles for a monthly fee. Over 25 million people have signed up for Xbox Game Pass.
“The new Extra and Premium tiers represent a significant evolution of PlayStation Plus,” said Jim Ryan, Sony’s PlayStation head, in a blog post.
“With these tiers, our primary goal is to ensure that the hundreds of games we offer include the highest quality content that distinguishes us.”
