Sony has officially confirmed Spartacus’ proposed revision of the PlayStation Plus subscription service, introducing a new three-tier service that will take existing services and bring them to life in the coming months. Combined with PlayStation Now, Sony kept the PlayStation Plus branding when it merged PS Plus and PlayStation Now into its revamped game subscription service, but don’t expect Sony to add new games to PS4 or PS5 on release day.
The change will see the all-new PlayStation Plus merge with Sony’s PlayStation Now service, which offers a selection of old and new games that can be downloaded or streamed. Sony is making major changes to its PlayStation Plus online service, adding several new membership tiers that give gamers access to cloud streaming and downloadable games.
Sony has finally launched its Xbox Game Pass competitor, the “new PlayStation Plus,” which combines the existing PS Plus and PS Now into a three-tier subscription service that includes up to 700 games and the highest-tier retro titles. Up to 700 games of the highest level. After months (if not years) of speculation, Sony has officially announced improvements to its game subscription service in an attempt to keep up with Microsoft’s Game Pass. Pricing is set at 10.99 PS / $14.99 per month, making the new second-tier a direct competitor to Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
The two new premium tiers of the service, dubbed Extra and Premium, will operate similarly to the Xbox Game Pass, where players will have access to hundreds of PlayStation games. According to Sony, PS Plus Premium will have approximately 340 more games than PS Plus Extra.
Members of this tier will also receive at least two game downloads per month, exclusive discounts on the PlayStation Store, and cloud storage access to their games. Premium subscribers will be able to stream PS1, PS2, and PSP games, as well as PS4 games on this tier, but only in markets where PlayStation Now is currently available. Existing PlayStation Now subscribers will be upgraded to PS Plus Premium for the remainder of their subscription time free of charge after the service launches.
As part of the move, PS Now will be shut down and memberships will be upgraded to the top at launch with the same price. All three membership levels will be available on PS5 and PS4, although PS5 users will have access to more games. The basic tier costs the same as a current Playstation Plus subscription service membership and will effectively provide the same service, with monthly access to cloud saves, multiplayer games, and two free games.
