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Sony is not new to gaming subscriptions, but its siloed services were not doing it any good as Microsoft is racking up big numbers with Game Pass. Today, Sony has announced the long-awaited overhaul of its online services, previously known as PS Plus and PS Now. Going forward, the features of both will be included in the new PlayStation Plus service. You can join for as little as $10 per month, but if you want all the bells and whistles, it’ll run you a bit more.
Sony launched its cloud gaming product several years ago, built on technology it acquired from Gaikai. However, the consensus seems to be that Sony squandered its early lead by limiting compatibility and game selection. At the same time, it offered PS Plus, which had a rotating selection of downloadable games. Technically, that service will still exist as the base tier of the new service, called PlayStation Plus Essential.
You can get PlayStation Plus Essential for $10 per month, which includes two free games per month, cloud storage, discounts, and other online services. So, there’s no change for current Plus subscribers. The next step up is PlayStation Plus Extra. It has all the Essential features with the addition of a catalog of up to 400 PS4 and PS5 games, which you can download and play on your console. It costs $14.99 per month.
Sony’s big play to combat Microsoft’s growing dominance in cloud gaming is PlayStation Plus Premium. It has all the features of the lower tiers, but this one adds cloud gaming. Like GeForce Now or Game Pass, you’ll rely on Sony’s servers to render the games and stream them to your devices. Plus, there are a few hundred more downloadable games from Sony’s older consoles. You’ll get instant streaming access to all the PlayStation, PS2, PSP, and PS4 games offered in the Extra and Premium tiers.
Sony’s Premium tier will allow streaming to the PS4, PS5, and PC. But Sony is guarding its latest content a bit more jealously. It sounds like PS5 games will only be available as downloads on the PS5, so no, you won’t be streaming them to your PC. In addition, Sony has not committed to launching its first-party titles on PlayStation Plus immediately as Microsoft does. The service will have some newer games available from day one, though, including Death Stranding, God of War, Marvel’s Spider-Man, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Mortal Kombat 11, and Returnal.
Even without the latest content streaming, this is a big step forward for Sony’s subscription offerings. The service will launch in June of this year in Asia with the US and Europe following after.
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