PlayStation Plus’ new subscription plans, compared to Xbox Game Pass

PlayStation’s long-awaited overhaul of PlayStation Plus goes into effect in June. Now offering three tiers of service, PlayStation Plus will more resemble the kind of subscription package for which Microsoft’s Xbox Games Pass is known. It is, however, a direct competitor to the PlayStation Plus platform. And is the money PlayStation’s asking for better, worse, or break-even for consumers?

We’ll recap the features and take a closer look here, but first, we have to call out the single biggest difference between the new PlayStation Plus and Xbox Game Pass: Sony’s esteemed first-party line of titles will not make any same-day launches on PlayStation Plus. Microsoft used Xbox Game Pass to showcase new titles like FOderza Horizon 5 or Halo Infinite, PlayStation’s boss is very clear that big titles from studios like Naughty Dog, Insomniac, or Guerrilla Games will continue with their retail-only availability when they launch.

“The level of investment that we need to make in our studios would not be possible,” if these $69.99 games were also available in a $14.99 monthly subscription, PlayStation chief executive Jim Ryan told GamesIndustry.biz on Tuesday. “[W]e think the knock-on effect on the quality of the games that we make would not be something that gamers want.”

Plus Extra and premium: What are you getting?

That said, PlayStation Plus’ two new tiers — called PlayStation Plus Extra and PlayStation Plus Premium — are not exactly content-poor. Sony will replace the PlayStation Now service with 400 games that can be downloaded to the PS Plus Extra and 700 in total for the Premium tier. PlayStation Now currently offers 788 games that span three different console generations.

This appears to be a basic library split and rebrand. However, Jim Ryan wrote Tuesday on the PlayStation Blog that Premium and Extra tiers would include first-party titles like Death Stranding, God of War (2018). Marvel’s Spider-ManAlso, Mortal Kombat 11. These games are all part of the PlayStation Plus Collection which PlayStation 5 owners got with their purchase.

PS Plus Extra subscribers get access to 400 PS4 and PS5 games already in PlayStation Now, and Premium subscribers get access to everything — which includes original PlayStation, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation Portable games. And if that’s the case, a monthly subscriber to PlayStation Plus Premium would end up paying less for the same services offered in the current PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now subscriptions.

PlayStation Plus’ new prices

PlayStation Now and PlayStation Plus both offer the same subscription rates at $59.99 for a full year, $24.99 per three months, and $9.99 each month. The cost of PlayStation Plus Premium subscriptions for a year and a quarter is almost double ($119.99 annually and $49.99 quarterly). A monthly PlayStation Plus Premium membership costs $17.99. Of course, over the course of a year, the customer would pay almost $100 more — $215.88 — than they would if they bought all 12 months up-front at $119.99.

Those who don’t need or care for PlayStation 3 and older games, or being able to stream them, can pick up the PS Plus Extra subscription for $14.99 monthly, $39.99 quarterly, or $99.99 yearly. For those who are already PS Plus and PS Now subscribers, that’s a savings of $5, $10, and $20, respectively.

You don’t have to buy the additional stuff that Sony offers. PlayStation Plus Essential will replace the existing PlayStation Plus subscription. The cost is $9.99 per month and $24.99 for three, or $59.99 annually.

PlayStation Plus and Game Pass

PlayStation Plus Premium has a $3 monthly fee, which is more than Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. It’s the highest level of Microsoft’s subscriptions. Microsoft doesn’t sell Game Pass subscriptions in 3-month blocks or 1-year blocks. Game Pass’ library is, by numbers alone, smaller (about 450 games), but the list is more curated, includes same-day launches of new titles, and EA Play’s library, as well as cloud streaming to mobile devices.

Verdict: It’s hard to see the new PlayStation Plus as much more than bolting the lesser-used PlayStation Now onto the more mandatory (for online multiplayer) existing PS Plus benefits. While this bundling is long overdue, it also doesn’t really make much of a new case to players who were doing just fine without PlayStation Now.

Microsoft, by contrast, started by creating Xbox Game Pass and driving value to it, then paired it with Xbox Live Gold with in-for-a-dime-in-for-a-dollar pricing that made the highest level of service the most attractive plan. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is a more affordable subscription than the semi-curated, larger library.