The only thing better than one video game is tons of video games, right? Well good news: Sony just revamped its PlayStation Plus subscription plans, which now offer over 700 games, from newer titles all the way back to PS2 games, along with other new features.
Formerly, there were PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now. With this new overhaul, the company now offers three plan tiers: PlayStation Plus Essential, PlayStation Plus Extra, and PlayStation Plus Premium. Sony also announced that PlayStation Now “will transition into the new PlayStation Plus offering and will no longer be available as a standalone service. PlayStation Now customers will migrate over to PlayStation Plus Premium with no increase to their current subscription fees at launch.”
So what features and treats do each of these three plans offer up? Let’s take a look:
PlayStation Plus Essential
This is the lowest-cost tier, and it gives gamers the same benefits PlayStation Plus members currently get. This includes two downloadable games per month, online multiplayer access, cloud storage for saved games, and exclusive discounts on select games. Pricing stays the same, too, at just $9.99 per month, $24.99 per quarter, or $59.99 per year.
PlayStation Plus Extra
With this tier, gamers will reap all the benefits of the Essential tier. They’ll also gain access to a catalog of up to 400 popular PS4 and PS5 games, including titles from PlayStation Studios and Sony’s third-party partners. Games via this tier are downloadable to play. Pricing is only a little bit more than the Essential tier, with a slight bump to $14.99 per month, $39.99 per quarter, or $99.99 per year.
PlayStation Plus Premium
This is, by far, the most interesting tier, and fans of Sony’s classic games will likely find it to be the tier they choose. In addition to enjoying all the benefits of the previous two tiers, Premium subscribers get a few other fantastic perks. This tier tacks on up to 340 additional games including PS3 games via cloud streaming and a selection of original PlayStation, PS2, and PSP games via streaming and download.
Gamers can also enjoy time-limited game trials, allowing you to try select titles before committing to a purchase. Cloud streaming access for original PlayStation, PS2, PSP, and PS4 games is offered for both the Extra and Premium tiers in areas where PlayStation Now is currently available. You’ll be able to stream games on both PS4 and PS5 consoles as well as via PC.
Sony is also offering a PlayStation Plus Deluxe plan for markets without cloud streaming at a lower cost than the Premium tier. This plan boasts a catalog of original PlayStation, PS2, and PSP titles; time-limited game trials; and all the benefits of the Essential and Extra tiers.
These three new subscription tiers seem like they will better serve a wider variety of gamers, from those looking to game on a budget to those interested in playing tons of classic titles. Plus, with the time-limited game trial option on the Premium tier, you can more easily decide whether a full (and probably expensive) game is worth the purchase price before you buy it.
Sony also said that it will include top-shelf titles like Death Stranding, God of War, Marvel’s Spider-Man, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Mortal Kombat 11, and Returnal at launch. The new tiers will be rolling out regionally in phases, starting in June in Asia and followed by North America, Europe, then any remaining countries. With these new PlayStation Plus subscription tiers in play, Sony is better poised to take on Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass, which is beloved for its large library of classic titles that are playable on the latest consoles.
Source: PlayStation Blog