the Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass is so successfulthat those responsible at Sony had to react at some point. The combination of Playstation Plus and Playstation Now simply wasn’t competitive. We have known how they react since March 29, 2022. On that day, Team Playstation introduces the completely renewed subscription model.
Four versions Playstation Plus
From June to December 2022, a switch to the new Playstation Plus model, which consists of four variants, is to take place across all countries. While Playstation Plus Essential is reminiscent of the current Playstation Plus service, the Extra variant will also offer a catalog of up to 400 PS4 and PS5 games. Cost point: 13.99 euros instead of 8.99 euros per month.
The premium version beckons for another three euros more, with time-limited test versions for newly released games and an extended library, which now also offers classics from older Playstation platforms via streaming and/or download. Complementing these three models in select non-cloud streaming countries is the more affordable Deluxe option, with an emphasis on downloading legacy Playstation games.
A big disadvantage compared to the Game Pass
400 games of the PS4 and PS5 generations in the extra version? That doesn’t sound bad. Especially when you read that you can catch up on exciting titles like Death Stranding, God of War, Marvel’s Spider-Man, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Mortal Kombat 11 or Returnal for little money right from the start.
However, it is also clear that Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass will continue to offer a decisive advantage that Sony does not want to offer: None of the four new “Playstation Plus” options will allow you to play freshly released works from the Sony studios right from the launch without more costs to play.
Playstation boss explains why
In an interview with games industry Playstation boss Jim Ryan recently explained why Sony is taking a different approach to the new subscription model than Microsoft is taking with the Xbox Game Pass. Why aren’t the fat exclusive Sony games available from day 1 via Playstation Plus Premium? His answer:
“For us it feels like we are in a very positive cycle with our studios. A cycle in which the investments ultimately bring success, which allows us to make further investments, which then lead to further success. We like this cycle and we think our players like this cycle too.“
Afterwards, Ryan declares: “When it comes to offering our own games right at release through any of our services… you know, that’s never been a route we’ve taken. And that’s not going to be a path we want to go with the new service. We fear that if we do this with the games from the Playstation studios, we will break the virtuous circle just mentioned. The level of investment that we would have to put into our studios would then no longer be feasible and we believe that the resulting effect on the quality of the games will not please the players.“
In the end, the Playstation boss admits that you can never be sure how things will look in a few years. A few years ago, nobody would have thought it possible that Sony’s AAA IPs would one day appear on the PC. And now you can play God of War, Horizon Zero Dawn or Days Gone on PC.
Is Playstation Plus still worth the money?
In fact, despite this disadvantage, the new Playstation Plus subscription could outperform Xbox Game Pass from Day 1. Did Microsoft agree when announcing the Acquisition of Activision Blizzard over 25 million subscribers According to Jim Ryan, Sony currently has 50 million subscribers to Playstation Plus and Playstation Now.
Ryan is also certain that the new Playstation model offers a lot for the money. This is all the more true because most Sony subscribers take out their subscriptions for the whole year, which makes them even cheaper. In addition, all current users of Plus AND Now can even look forward to savings after the changeover.