PlayStation launched the revamped version of its video game subscription service on Monday, giving members access to a catalog of several hundred games, both new and old.
PlayStation Pluswhose code name was Spartacus, is the attempt to Sony Group Corp. to compete with the popular Xbox Game Pass from rival Microsoft Corp. as the two companies battle to become the Netflix of video games.
The new service combines the previous subscription offers of Sony in a three-tier system. The most basic level, Essential, costs $10 a month and replaces the old PlayStation Plusoffering two downloadable games per month, some discounts and access to online multiplayer games.
The top two levels are new to users of PlayStation. The $15/month Extra tier offers a library of regarding four hundred PlayStation 4 and 5 games, while the $18/month Premium tier adds a few hundred classic games to the mix, mostly from PlayStation 3. The service only has regarding thirty games from PS1, PS2 and PSP, which has been a disappointment for retro gamers.
Still, the core offering has impressed fans so far. It includes Sony’s own games like Spider-Man and Returnal, as well as recent titles from third-party publishers like Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.’s Red Dead Redemption II and Square Enix Holdings Co.’s Guardian of the Galaxy.
Indie classics like Outer Wilds and Hollow Knight help round out the catalog. The service ran smoothly during tests conducted by Bloomberg on Monday followingnoon.
But the new PlayStation Plus differs from Xbox Game Pass in a key aspect: it does not include new games. Sony’s Horizon Forbidden West, which launched in February, isn’t available on the service yet, and the upcoming God of War Ragnarok won’t be available right away either.
Sony, which relies on its blockbusters to sell tens of millions of games, has said it wouldn’t make economic sense to put the titles on PlayStation Plus when they come out. On the contrary, Microsoft has committed to putting all of its games on Game Pass as soon as they’re released.
the new service PlayStation Plus debuted just one day following the annual presentation of Xbox of Microsoftin which several new games were revealed and images of upcoming titles such as Starfield were shown.
Each new reveal ended with a simple but effective chyron illustrating Microsoft’s biggest advantage in the upcoming streaming war: “Play from day one with Game Pass”.
