PlayStation Plus: understand everything about Sony’s new subscription video game offer

One month after Asia and ten days after America, Sony is deploying its new offer for the PlayStation Plus subscription on June 23 in Europe, which provides unlimited access to hundreds of games.

Until now, PlayStation Now was a simple platform connecting users to each other to allow them to play together online. The PlayStation Plus offers a fully redesigned version. Thus, for a few euros more each month, the 48 million subscribers of the redesigned service will now be able to have a vast catalog of games accessible at no additional cost for downloading.

This change opens a new front with Microsoft, its great rival in the console market. Game Pass, the name of the American company’s subscription video game service, has indeed become one of its spearheads. The American manufacturer claims 25 million subscribers for a service that until then had no serious rival.

Three subscriptions for Sony’s service

In order to fully understand the contours of the new PlayStation Plus, here are the three subscriptions offered:

• L’elementary offer already exists and costs (still) 9 euros. Nothing changes except its name, which becomes PlayStation Plus “Essential”. It allows users to connect with other gamers online – much like Nintendo Switch Online and Xbox Live Gold from competing consoles. The free download of two or three recent games per month as well as free access to some great PlayStation 4 classics (PlayStation Plus Collection) is maintained. Just like the ability to store your save data online and get discounts on the console’s digital store.
• For 15 euros, theintermediate offer (PlayStation Plus “Extra”) includes the services provided by the previous subscription as well as free access to an extensive library. It is aimed at players who wish to buy fewer games individually or to multiply their experiences. For the moment, Sony has not yet given the complete list of the catalog of its library of games available in Europe, but has said it plans to provide 400. The headliners are exclusive to the publisher, such as god of war, Ghost of Tsushima Where Marvel’s Spider-Man. There are also blockbusters from third-party publishers like Rockstar Games (Red Dead Redemption II) or Ubisoft (Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla), a plethora of PlayStation 4 classics or nuggets of independent gaming.
• The offer top of the line at 17 euros is primarily aimed at nostalgics. This “Premium” PlayStation Plus combines the services of the two previous ranges while adding more than 350 games from old Sony consoles playable only in streaming. Those of the PSP or PlayStation 1 and 2 will be available in “optimized” versions. Those of the PlayStation 3 will be presented as they were when they were released. Another notable new feature: this subscription allows users to try video games that have just been released for a limited time in order to decide whether or not they will make the purchase.

Four differences with Microsoft’s Game Pass

Sony and Microsoft subscriptions are not equivalent. It is therefore impossible to compare them strictly. Here are four points to see more clearly and understand what differentiates them:

• On what media are they available? Sony’s offer is only playable on PlayStation 4 and 5 consoles. While Microsoft’s is for owners of Xbox One and Xbox Series consoles, but also for players with a PC running Windows 10 or 11 , or even a simple smartphone, since the publisher’s catalog is accessible in the cloud.
• How much does it cost ? On the one hand, we have the Playstation Plus, a service divided into three distinct ranges whose price is 9, 15 or 17 euros per month. The more you pay, the more you have access to a large catalog and additional services. Microsoft’s service is divided into two ranges, the price of which ranges from 10 to 14 euros. The user who pays the cheapest subscription must choose between access to the PC or Xbox catalog, the two being substantially identical. Paying more gives him access to both. Note that both Sony and Microsoft offer discounts by opting for an annual subscription.
• Who has the biggest catalog? Impossible to decide because the offers are not equivalent. That of Sony is variable geometry: it goes from 2 to 800 games depending on the type of subscription. Sony’s PlayStation Plus “Extra” is the one that competes with Microsoft’s Game Pass: both offer around 400 recent games, this catalog changing every month.
• Can we play new games? The strategy of Sony and Microsoft varies on this specific point. To attract customers, Microsoft relies with its Game Pass on the immediate integration of its exclusive games, from the day of their release. On the contrary, Sony will always bet on unit sales for its most enticing exclusives when they are released. The PlayStation Plus does not include the most recent blockbusters from its studios, such as Gran Turismo 7 Where Horizon Forbidden West. The next God of War: Ragnarok was also not announced on the service. However, the company does not close the door on more modest titles: stray des Montpelliérains by Blue Twelve Studio will be present on Playstation Plus as soon as it goes on sale on July 19.