Following months of rumors, Sony today finally pulled the covers off its latest subscription program overhaul program, one that combines the offerings of its current services and adds some bonuses on top. Simply taking forward the name PlayStation Plus, users will soon have the option to select between three tiers of benefits when subscribing.
PS Plus Essential, Extra, and Premium are the tier names, with each offering further benefits for subscribing and a bump to the monthly price.
Essential carries the same perks of the current PlayStation Plus service, offering access to online multiplayer, two free games monthly, cloud storage for save games, and discounts. This comes in at $9.99 per month, $24.99 quarterly, and $59.99 yearly.
Going up a rung, the PS Plus Extra subscription reads very much like a Xbox Game Pass rival, offering members up to 400 PlayStation 4 and 5 games for download from both first-party Sony studios and third-party publishers. This tier will come in at $14.99 per month, $39.99 quarterly, and $99.99 yearly.
While a full list of available games in this tier is not available yet, Sony did give a teaser saying Death Stranding, God of War, Marvel’s Spider-Man, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Mortal Kombat 11, and Returnal will be available at launch. Unfortunately, unlike Microsoft's service, brand-new games from Sony studios will not be reaching the subscription platform at launch.
Lastly, in the PS Plus Premium membership, cloud streaming is enabled, in addition to original PlayStation, PS2, and PSP games access via downloads and cloud. Sony promises up to 340 additional games for subscribers to stream in this tier, and that includes PlayStation 1, 2, 3, 4, and PSP classics. Moreover, Sony will be offering time-limited game trials in this tier, letting subscribers try out games before they buy them. It's possible trials of first-party exclusives will be given out here.
Just like the current PlayStation Now, streaming will be available on PS4, PS5, and PC in supported markets. As for pricing, PS Plus Premium will cost $17.99 per month, $49.99 quarterly, and $119.99 yearly.
"We’re working closely with our imaginative developers from PlayStation Studios and third-party partners to include some of the best gaming experiences available with a library that will be regularly refreshed," Sony says, adding that more details are coming soon. Moreover, PlayStation Now customers will be migrated to PlayStation Plus Premium without an increase to their monthly price, at launch.
The all-new PlayStation Plus will begin rolling out this June in several markets in Asia at first, followed by releases in North America, Europe and the rest of the world where PlayStation services are available. Sony is also working on expanding its cloud streaming offerings to more markets.
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