In response to Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass, Sony decided to restructure its Playstation Plus game subscription service with two new modes called Extra and Premium. Furthermore, the company announced that it will merge Playstation Now and Playstation Plus into one service.
The current Playstation Plus subscription will be renamed Playstation Plus Essential. According to Sony, this will offer, among other things, two downloadable games per month and online multiplayer functionality for many games.
The new Playstation Plus Extra subscription adds a catalog of up to 400 downloadable games for PS4 and PS5, both from Sony’s offer and from third-party partner developers.
The most expensive subscription, called Playstation Plus Premium, includes all the benefits of the Essential and Extra levels. It adds over 340 more games, including PS3 titles available via cloud streaming, as well as a catalog of popular classics for PS, PS2 and Playstation Portable (PSP), available for streaming and download.
Streaming of games from internet servers is offered, as before on Playstation Now for PS4, PS5 or PC. In addition, the Premium subscription includes trial versions so that players can try the games before buying them.
Users who pay quarterly or even annually instead of monthly will receive a discount on all subscriptions. The PlayStation Plus membership will be phased in by region, starting with Asian markets, followed by North America and Europe.
Among the titles that will be available in Extra and Premium subscriptions, Sony mentioned: “Death Stranding”, “God of War”, “Marvel’s Spider-Man”, “Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales”, “Mortal Kombat 11” and “return”.
Markets that do not have PlayStation Now cloud streaming services, including Latin America, will receive a more affordable version of PlayStation Plus with fewer features. This modality will be called PlayStation Plus Deluxe and will replace the Premium subscription.