After Microsoft went all out last time, Sony is fighting back: The PlayStation manufacturer is planning a new subscription model with three content options.
In 2017, Microsoft came up trumps with Xbox Game Pass, a subscription service that gives access to a certain selection of games for regular payment. The Netflixisation of the gaming industry had reached the next level, main competitor Sony had fallen a little behind.
Lately, Microsoft also attracted attention with its record acquisition of the developer studio Activision Blizzard. The US American company has been upgrading in its duel with Sony, and now the Japanese company is reacting with a subscription offensive: PS Plus and PS Now are to merge in the near future.
Essential, Extra and Premium
GamePro first reported on Tuesday that Sony is planning a three-tier model. The restructuring of the subscription service will see PS Plus Essential, PS Plus Extra and PS Plus Premium options, with different content for different prices. PS Plus subscribers will automatically become PS Plus Essential members.
Monetarily, each tier has three payment alternatives: monthly, every three months or annually. PS Plus Essential provides for three free games in a “2+1” concept (twice PS4, once PS5) for €8.99 per month. Online multiplayer options, cloud storage and exclusive discounts are added in terms of content.
PS Plus Extra adds a catalogue of 400 PS4 and PS5 games for 13.99 euros. With PS Plus Premium, fans also have access to a catalogue of PS1, PS2 and PSP games, a collection of PS3 games and a PlayStation library via cloud streaming as well as trial versions of AAA games for 16.99 euros.
No AAA titles on release
PS Plus Premium is thus the closest thing to the current PS Now with around 740 titles available for download or streaming. Those who commit to the new subscription model for three or twelve months will pay slightly less each month. According to GamePro, CEO Jim Ryan has scheduled the launch of the upcoming system for the end of June 2022.
AAA exclusives will apparently not be available at release even after the subscription offensive, Ryan justifies this decision with the economic circle, which is based on three fixed pillars. These could be problematically diluted with an immediate inclusion of AAA games.
