Sony’s New PlayStation Plus Subscription Service Launches in June

Sony is launching a revamped version of its PlayStation Plus subscription service in June. There will be three different tiers to this service, with the highest tier giving gamers access to over 700 titles.

For the most part, Sony’s plan seems to be combining the different aspects of its PlayStation Plus program with its PlayStation Now program to create a viable competitor to Microsoft’s insanely successful Game Pass. However, the exact benefits players get depend on which tier they subscribe to.

The lowest tier is called PlayStation Plus Essential, which is just a rebranded version of the existing PlayStation Plus program. It will cost $60 a year and offer players a familiar set of benefits, including special discounts, free games, cloud storage, and online play.

The next tier is PlayStation Plus Extra. It will cost $15 a month or $100 per year. In addition to the benefits of the lower tier, this tier allows gamers to play 400 games that come from both the PS4 and PS5 libraries. You can either download or stream these games, and this service functionally replaces PlayStation Now (which will get discontinued in June).

The highest tier is PlayStation Plus Premium. It will cost $18 a month or $120 per year. In addition to the benefits of previous tiers, Premium throws in an additional 340 games. These games will be mostly made up of older titles from the original Playstation, PS2, PS3, and even PSP. Some games will be downloadable, but PS3 games will be stream-only. This tier will also throw in timed game trials and cloud streaming on PC.

Sony has obviously created this service to compete with Microsoft’s Game Pass, and it’s no coincidence that the PlayStation Plus Essential carries a similar monthly price tag. But the jury is still out on whether Sony will be able to offer the quality game selection that Microsoft offers.

Some retro fans are also skeptical about the Premium tier. Sony announced they would be removing the PS3 and PS Vita stores last year before backtracking due to fan backlash. But when (not if) those stores do gown, players may be stuck paying for a monthly selection of retro titles instead of simply being able to buy and keep the games they want.

Are you excited about Sony’s PlayStation Plus changes? Let us know in the comments!