PS Plus Transforms Into 3 Tiers to Challenge Xbox Game Pass

PlayStation Plus is being restructured — launching in June — to better compete with Xbox Game Pass. Sony has officially announced that the PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now will be clubbed together to offer three membership tiers globally. The new base tier, PlayStation Plus Essential, will have the same price and benefits as the current PS Plus subscription. There will also be PlayStation Plus Extra that will offer a catalogue of up to 400 PS4 and PS5 games. PlayStation Plus Premium will feature up to 740 games, including PS3 games and classic games from older consoles, including PS2, PS1, and PSP.

As previously mentioned, PlayStation will be combining the PS Plus and PS Now subscriptions to offer the benefits of both with a three-tier membership model. PS Now is currently a cloud streaming service that allows gamers to play titles from older PlayStation consoles on the PS4, PS5, and Windows computers. Sony has confirmed that the current PS Now customers will migrate over to the new PS Plus Premium at launch without an increased subscription fee.

For regions without cloud streaming like India, Sony will offer the PlayStation Plus Deluxe membership. It is said to have a lower price than Premium, and will include classic games from the original PlayStation, PS2, and PSP for offline play. Its price has not been revealed.

Unlike Xbox Game Pass though, Sony will not be offering its first-party titles like Horizon Forbidden West and God of War Ragnarök on day one on the new PlayStation Plus — even on the highest tier. When the new PS Plus arrives in June, it will launch with older PS5 titles, including Returnal, Spider-Man: Remastered, and Spider-Man: Miles Morales among others.

Sony is planning a phased roll out of the new PS Plus service with an initial release in various Asian markets in June. This is to be followed by launches in North America, Europe, and the remaining global regions where PS Plus is offered. The company plans to make this service available in all PlayStation Network territories in the first half of 2022.

PlayStation Plus new subscription fees

PlayStation Plus Essential

United States: $9.99 monthly / $24.99 quarterly / $59.99 yearly

Europe: EUR 8.99 monthly / EUR 24.99 quarterly / EUR 59.99 yearly

United Kingdom: GBP 6.99 monthly / GBP 19.99 quarterly / GBP 49.99 yearly

Japan: JPY 850 monthly / JPY 2,150 quarterly / JPY 5,143 yearly

United States: $14.99 monthly / $39.99 quarterly / $99.99 yearly

Europe: EUR 13.99 monthly / EUR 39.99 quarterly / EUR 99.99 yearly

United Kingdom: GBP 10.99 monthly / GBP 31.99 quarterly / GBP 83.99 yearly

Japan: JPY 1,300 monthly / JPY 3,600 quarterly / JPY 8,600 yearly

PlayStation Plus Premium

United States: $17.99 monthly / $49.99 quarterly / $119.99 yearly

Europe: EUR 16.99 monthly / EUR 49.99 quarterly / EUR 119.99 yearly

United Kingdom: GBP 13.49 monthly / GBP 39.99 quarterly / GBP 99.99 yearly

Japan: JPY 1,550 monthly / JPY 4,300 quarterly / JPY 10,250 yearly

Sony India has yet to announce the fees for this new service. However, according to unconfirmed reports on the Internet, PS Plus Extra might start at Rs. 800 per month, with Rs. 2,000 quarterly and Rs. 5,000 yearly subscription options. The PS Plus Premium subscription is believed to start at Rs. 1,000 per month, alongside a Rs. 2,500 monthly plan and a Rs. 6,000 yearly membership option. As said previously, the base PS Plus subscription fee — now PS Plus Essential — is not going to change.