Sony has announced the launch of an all-new PlayStation Plus subscription service after much speculation and rumors. The subscription service codenamed ‘Project Spartacus‘ had been a keen discussion topic in the gaming world. It will merge the existing Playstation Now with the original Playstation Plus. The all-new service is Sony’s answer to Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass, which has been very successful.
New Playstation Plus Service: What’s In It?
According to the announcement, there will be three tiers to the service, each with its own benefits. They are PlayStation Plus Essential, Extra, and Premium. The features are explained below:
- PlayStation Plus Essential: Same benefits as the original PlayStation Plus subscription including online multiplayer, cloud saves, exclusive discounts, and two free games a month. Prices are $9.99 monthly, $24.99 quarterly, and $59.99 yearly.
- PlayStation Plus Extra: Includes all the benefits from the Essential tier and adds a catalog of almost 400+ PS4 and PS5 games for players to download and play. This is essentially the original Playstation Plus and Playstation Now subscription benefits merged. Prices are $14.99 monthly, $39.99 quarterly, and $99.99 yearly.
- PlayStation Plus Premium: Includes all benefits of the Essential and Extra tier and provides a catalog of 340 games from the PS1, PS2, PS3, and PSP eras. In addition to that, cloud streaming will be available for these games. Not only that, time-limited trials and demos will be available for players who purchase this tier. Prices are $17.99 monthly, $49.99 quarterly, and $119.99 yearly.
Not only that but a special tier called PlayStation Deluxe is also mentioned. This tier will be available for select markets where cloud streaming is not available. It will also be offered at a lowered price compared to Premium.
The new subscription service will feature high-quality games according to the announcement. At launch, we will see Death Stranding, God of War, Returnal, Marvel’s Spiderman, Marvel’s Spiderman: Miles Morales, and Mortal Kombat 11 as playable content via the Extra and Premium tiers.
Sony is initially planning to launch this new Playstation Plus service in Asia, followed by North America, Europe, and other regions. The plan is to have the service in almost every region by the first half of 2022.
The full details of this service can be found here.
What This Could Bring
The overall change of Sony’s whole subscription service is sure to shake up the gaming world. The new Playstation service can surely be a definite competitor to Xbox Game Pass if it works properly. For now, Xbox Game Pass has got the edge, but we’ll have to wait and see how the new Playstation Plus service evolves. Perhaps, we can see newly released games on day one on the service sometime in the future just like with Game Pass. Whatever happens, players are surely in for a treat with this.
What do you think of this news? Will you buy the new Playstation subscription when it is launched? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!
