Game On - Sony PlayStation Plus
It's finally here! With the success of the Xbox Game Pass program, it was only a matter of time until Sony stepped into the ring with their own subscription service and today we finally got the announcement. Starting in June for some markets (we'll get it later in 2022), the all new PlayStation Plus is a three-tier subscription based service that includes up to a whopping 700+ games. The highest tier also gets access to a huge library of retro titles as well (fingers crossed for Parasite Eve and Dino Crisis)! Huge titles will be available, from God of War, MK11, Returnal, and Spider-Man: Miles Morales!
As part of the move, the existing PlayStation Now program will be closed down permanently, with those members migrated automatically to the top Plus - Premium tier with no change to their price. At that top tier as well, over 700 titles will be available for streaming or download and the library will be regularly updated. PS3 games will be streaming-only, while older PS1, PS2, and PSP titles will be available to download as well.
Let's take a look at the tiers to break it all down!
PlayStation Plus - Essential
Essential is just that! Essentially the same PlayStation Plus service that exists today, with no change to pricing. Two monthly downloadable games, discounts, saved game cloud storage, and access to online for most multiplayer games.
PlayStation Plus - Extra
The Extra tier includes all of the Essential benefits, as well as a catalogue of about 400 PS4 and PS5 games that can be downloaded any time while subscribed. There'll be first-party and third-party games, but no new exclusives (for now) will launch into the service. This tier will cost $14.99/month, or $99.99/year (USD pricing).
PlayStation Plus - Premium
Now we're talkin'! With all the Essential and Extra tier benefits, Premium also gets you another 340 games to the catalogue, including PS1, PS2, PS3 (streaming only), and PSP titles! Time-limited trials of new releases will be given to this tier as well! This tier will cost $17.99/month, or $119.99/year (USD pricing).
So there you go! A lot to digest but it's all fairly straightforward...looks like Sony is coming out swinging in the subscription market. Are you going to be signing up for any of the new PlayStation Plus tiers? Or are you #TeamXbox all the way? Let me know in the comments!