Sony's offerings on PlayStation Plus have been quite a bit better than what Xbox's Games with Gold tend to have available for subscribers. However, over the last few years, Microsoft has come up with a service that beats out PS Now and PlayStation Plus when it comes to the value and the games on offer. While Sony has been trying to beef up its offerings on the PS Now service, it's seemingly long been an afterthought, even among PS4/PS5 players. Sony might finally be trying to compete with Microsoft by launching a direct competitor to the Xbox Game Pass service, and at first blush, there are some indications it could be a serious Game Pass competitor.

If Sony is indeed launching what's allegedly been codenamed Project Spartacus, then it seems Xbox Game Pass may have some competition. If Project Spartacus is everything recent reports claim it is, then Microsoft is about to lose its foothold on the one part of the industry where it's been undisputed. However, there is one opening for Microsoft to hang onto its subscription service dominance. For now at least, it appears Spartacus could only offer certain certain first-party titles with the service for a short duration, unlike the permanent first-party titles on Xbox Game Pass.

RELATED: The Best PS2 Games On PlayStation Now (November 2021)

Why Project Spartacus Needs To Tailor Its Approach

xbox game pass logo

If the reports about what Spartacus has to offer are accurate, then the service is going to be following in the footsteps of Xbox Game Pass by combining PS Plus and PS Now. That's going to mean that there's plenty of games to pull from. While PS Now tends to get overlooked because it doesn't have a ton of new games, it's not a bad service on its face. Sony has also clearly been working to beef up what it does offer, with newer and more popular games over the last few months. The company appears to know that if it wants to really compete with something like Xbox Game Pass, it's going to have to expand.

Certainly the catalog that is offered by PS Plus, especially in 2021, has been impressive. A ton of games were added to the service that were of high demand. In many regards, it seems as if the PS Plus offerings over the last year or so have actually been better than Xbox's Games With Gold service. Of course, it also appears as if Microsoft has made the Games With Gold games more of an afterthought compared to Xbox Game Pass.

With Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, Microsoft has found a way to surpass Xbox Games With Gold with a larger and better catalog in Xbox Game Pass. By combining the two services, Microsoft is able to compete with PS Plus, and leaves PS Now in the dust.

One of the reasons that Xbox Game Pass has gotten so much better over the last year is that Microsoft has been adding some heavy hitters to its catalog as "first party" games, thanks to its acquisitions of studios like Bethesda.

Even if it doesn't, there is exactly one platform where these games can be played for no further charge. Titles like Fallout 4, the new Wolfenstein games, and lesser know but still beloved titles like Prey are all on offer on Xbox Game Pass. Even better is that, while the service routinely rotates quite a few of the games on the service, the Bethesda games are likely there for as long as Game Pass exists in its current iteration.

Not All First Party Games Are Equal For Project Spartacus

infamous cole delsin ps5 story

Certainly, if the reports of what Project Spartacus will include are correct, there will be plenty of Sony first-party games in its catalog. The problem is that most of those first-party games tend to be more attractive to those who have a special place in their hearts for PS2 and PS3 titles. While some newer games like Horizon: Zero Dawn are finally arriving on PlayStation Now, the newer Sony studio games are few and far between. Unlike Microsoft, first-party games on PS Now don't stick around for long. It sounds like that might not change when Project Spartacus is launched next spring, as there are no plans to launch "day and date" first-party titles on the new subscription service.

By contrast, when Halo Infinite launches worldwide later this month, it will be also be launching for no additional fee on Xbox Game Pass for both PC and console. When adding in other titles that aren't first-party, like MLB The Show and Outriders, Xbox Game Pass becomes the place to play these games. Knowing that, it's a bit strange that the one weakness of Project Spartacus appears to be that Sony won't be following in those footsteps.

It certainly seems as if the ability to play God of War: Ragnarok or Horizon: Forbidden West for no extra charge on launch day would be a massive win column for this rumored new subscription service. If Project Spartacus offered Sony launch titles right out of the gate, it could certainly compete with Xbox Game Pass. By apparently sidestepping that option, at least at first, it's hampering itself in comparison.

MORE: The Best Multiplayer Games On PlayStation Now (November 2021)