The Playstation Plus or PS+ subscription system is getting a major makeover with an announcement from Sony. From now on, PS+ and PS Now will be combined in a clearer offer, which we’ll explain in detail.
Playstation is completely revamping its subscription offers at the end of March. The company announced in a blog post by Jim Ryan that Playstation Plus and Playstation Now subscriptions would be combined into a single offer, including three levels of subscriptions and services. Remember, Playstation Plus has been Sony’s subscription offering for access to Playstation multiplayer since 2010, and also included other benefits such as two free monthly game downloads, discounts, cloud backup and more. On the other hand, we had Playstation Now, the catalogue-based on-demand gaming service that also harnesses the potential of cloud gaming. From now on, these two offers will be combined in three Playstation Plus offers, starting next June.
What are the new PS+ subscriptions?
As we said in the introduction, the new Playstation Plus subscriptions will be divided into three different levels. Firstly, there will be the Playstation Plus Essential, which will include all the benefits of the current PS+ (multiplayer, two games to download, cloud, promotions) and will be priced the same as today. Next up will be Playstation Plus Extra, which adds a catalogue of 400 downloadable games on demand to their subscription. Finally, Playstation Plus Premium adds even more games to this catalogue, offering PS1, PS2, PSP and PS3 titles for a clearly retrogaming experience. Subscription prices and content:
Playstation Plus Essential
It includes the same benefits as the current PlayStation Plus plan and offers two downloadable games each month, exclusive discounts, cloud storage for saved games and online multiplayer access.
Pricing
- US: $9.99 / month, $24.99 / quarter, $59.99 / year.
- UK: £6.99 / month, £19.99 / quarter, £49.99 / year.
- Europe: €8.99 / month, €24.99 / quarter, €59.99 / year.
Playstation Plus Extra
PS Plus Extra offers the same benefits as the Essential plan, with additional perks. PS+ Extra members will have access to a selection of 400 PS4 and PS5 games. Sony says PS+ Extra members will be able to download their games for online play.
Pricing
- US: $14.99 / month, $39.99 / quarter, $99.99 / year.
- UK: £10.99 / month, £31.99 / quarter, £83.99 / year.
- Europe: €13.99 / month, €39.99 / quarter, €99.99 / year.
Playstation Plus Premium
Finally, PlayStation Plus Premium is the highest plan that offers all the benefits of the previous two plans plus 340 additional games. This includes many PS3 titles that can be streamed to the cloud. In addition, this plan includes various classic PS, PS2 and PSP games that can be streamed or downloaded. In addition, the company said that PS+ Premium members will be able to try a game before purchasing it.
Pricing
- US: $17.99 / month, $49.99 / quarter, $119.99 / year.
- UK: £13.49 / month, £39.99 / quarter, £99.99 / year.
- Europe: €16.99 / month, €49.99 / quarter, €119.99 / year.
What games are in Playstation Plus Extra and Premium?
The two new subscription levels Extra and Premium both include a catalogue of on-demand video games. Of course, the titles and platforms are different between the two subscriptions, but there are questions about the content of the catalogue when it is released in June. To reassure gamers, Sony has said that it will include flagship titles such as Death Stranding, God of War, Marvel’s Spider-Man, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Mortal Kombat 11, and Returnal when the new subscriptions launch. This will reassure gamers who want to enjoy the latest exclusives on their console.
When will the new subscriptions start?
A change like this takes time to implement properly, even for a company as massive as Sony’s Playstation. That’s why Jim Ryan explains in his blog post that the new subscriptions will be rolled out in June, in a specific order taking into account the different regions of the world. Asia will be the first continent to benefit, followed closely by North America and Europe. Also note that at launch, current PS Now subscribers will see their offer migrate to PS+ Premium at no extra cost.
