Playstation Unveils its GamePass Competitor: Playstation Plus Extra & Premium

While any true gamer knows that the ‘console war’ is nothing more than steam to keep the hype train for either company going, the reality is that Xbox has been doing some objectively fantastic things with their GamePass subscription service, offering a large library of games to anyone who coughs up a small amount of cash. Well, Playstation has been watching this, and has announced via the Playstation Blog that it is bolstering its own game subscription service, Playstation Plus, with some new tiers to offer a viable alternative to GamePass.

The new PlayStation Plus enhancements, which is made up of three tiers, include an expanded library of games to play, which syncs and piggybacks off of the company’s online streaming service, PlayStation Now. The three tiers include Playstation Plus Essential (basically the current version of PS Plus), Playstation Plus Extra (adds a catalogue of PS4 and PS5 games to play, alongside other extras), Playstation Plus Premium (adds PS4, PS5, PS3 via cloud streaming, PS2, and PSP games, trials for new games, and other extras).

A further breakdown of what each Playstation Plus tier features:

PlayStation Plus Essential

Benefits:

Provides the same benefits that PlayStation Plus members are getting today, such as:

• Two monthly downloadable games
• Exclusive discounts
• Cloud storage for saved games
• Online multiplayer access

The price for PlayStation Plus Essential remains the same as the current price for PlayStation Plus.

Pricing:

• United States: $9.99 monthly / $24.99 quarterly / $59.99 yearly
• Europe: €8.99 monthly / €24.99 quarterly / €59.99 yearly
• United Kingdom: £6.99 monthly / £19.99 quarterly / £49.99 yearly
• Japan: ¥850 monthly / ¥2,150 quarterly / ¥5,143 yearly

PlayStation Plus Extra

Benefits:

• Provides all the benefits from the Essential tier.
• Adds a catalogue of up to 400* of the most enjoyable PS4 and PS5 games – including blockbuster hits from our PlayStation Studios catalogue and third-party partners. Games in the Extra tier are downloadable for play.

Price:

• United States: $14.99 monthly / $39.99 quarterly / $99.99 yearly
• Europe: €13.99 monthly / €39.99 quarterly / €99.99 yearly
• United Kingdom: £10.99 monthly / £31.99 quarterly / £83.99 yearly
• Japan: ¥1,300 monthly / ¥3,600 quarterly / ¥8,600 yearly

PlayStation Plus Premium**

Benefits:

• Provides all the benefits from Essential and Extra tiers.
• Adds up to 340* additional games, including: PS3 games available via cloud streaming.
• A catalogue of beloved classic games available in both streaming and download options from the original PlayStation, PS2 and PSP generations.
• Offers cloud streaming access for original PlayStation, PS2, PSP and PS4 games offered in the Extra and Premium tiers in markets** where PlayStation Now is currently available.
• Customers can stream games using PS4 and PS5 consoles, and PC.***
• Time-limited game trials will also be offered in this tier, so customers can try select games before they buy.

Price*

• United States: $17.99 monthly / $49.99 quarterly / $119.99 yearly
• Europe: €16.99 monthly / €49.99 quarterly / €119.99 yearly
• United Kingdom: £13.49 monthly / £39.99 quarterly / £99.99 yearly
• Japan: ¥1,550 – monthly / ¥4,300 – quarterly / ¥10,250 yearly PlayStation Plus Deluxe (Select Markets)
• For markets without cloud streaming, PlayStation Plus Deluxe will be offered at a lower price compared to Premium, and includes a catalogue of beloved classic games from the original PlayStation, PS2 and PSP generations to download and play, along with time-limited game trials. Benefits from Essential and Extra tiers are also included. Local pricing will vary by market.

What games will be available?

At launch, Sony confirmed that the following titles will be live on the service: Death Stranding, God of War, Marvel’s Spider-Man, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Mortal Kombat 11, and Returnal.

When the new PlayStation Plus service launches, PlayStation Now will transition into the new PlayStation Plus offering and will no longer be available as a standalone service. PlayStation Now customers will migrate over to PlayStation Plus Premium with no increase to their current subscription fees at launch.

Sony also confirmed that the new PlayStation Plus offering will launch in a phased regional approach. In the June timeframe, the company will begin with an initial launch in several markets in Asia, followed by North America, Europe and the rest of the world where PlayStation Plus is offered. Sony aims to have most PlayStation Network territories live with the new PlayStation Plus game subscription service by the end of the first half of 2022.