Earlier this week, Sony revealed its answer to Xbox Game Pass, which came in the form of a brand new tiered version of PlayStation Plus. Instead of creating a new service like Xbox did with Xbox Game Pass, PlayStation will be combining PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now into one service. It will give players access to a treasure trove of games for a monthly price, but it comes with a catch as it locks things behind separate tiers.
Xbox Game Pass has shaken up the gaming industry, as it offers over 100 different titles for a cheap monthly price. Microsoft boosted the offerings when it chose to include every Xbox Game Studios game at launch, created Xbox Game Pass for PC, and introduced Xbox Cloud Gaming at no extra charge. Sony has been searching for its Xbox Game Pass competitor for a while, and it was long rumored under the name "Project Spartacus." The newly announced tier system for PlayStation Plus seems to be that competitor, but it is missing the point of Xbox Game Pass entirely.
PlayStation Plus Tier System Explained
The newly announced tier system for PlayStation Plus will include three separate tiers of content at different monthly prices. These tiers will include PlayStation Plus Essentials. PlayStation Plus Extra, and PlayStation Plus Premium. Each tier costs more than the previous one, with the most expensive being $17.99/month. Most PlayStation players will be just fine with the PlayStation Plus Essentials tier, as it includes everything that PlayStation Plus currently includes, but those who want something more may be interested in the Extra or Premium tier.
PlayStation Plus Extra will cost $14.99/month and includes everything from the Essential tier plus access to many games. It will allow players to access a catalog of up to 400 different PS4 and PS5 titles, including games from PlayStation Studios. Each of these games will be available to download, and the catalog will include titles like Marvel's Spider-Man, God of War, Death Stranding, and Returnal. There will also be many third-party titles that subscribers will gain access to.
PlayStation Plus Premium is the most expensive tier at $17.99/month. This tier includes everything from the Essentials tier and the Extra tier plus the PlayStation Now catalog. PlayStation Now subscribers will be folded into this tier and will find a catalog of up to 340 games from PlayStation, PS2, PS3, and PSP. It will also offer the ability to utilize cloud streaming on their PS4, PS5, and PC. This tier will also offer time-limited game trials so that subscribers can try out games before they buy them.
How Xbox Game Pass Differs
Unlike PlayStation Plus, Xbox Game Pass is not split up into a tier system. For $9.99/month, subscribers gain access to a library of over 100 games including every Xbox Game Studios title on release. Along with that, they get various discounts on the games in the catalog in case they want to purchase one of the games that they played through Game Pass. There are two separate game passes, one for PC and one for Xbox depending upon what system the subscriber plays on.
Subscribers can also choose to subscribe to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for $14.99. Ultimate bundles Xbox Live Gold, Xbox Game Pass for PC and Xbox, and EA Play into one subscription. It includes the same exact library as the $9.99/month subscriptions, but it also includes cloud gaming. It turns what could be a $25-$35/month bill into a much cheaper $15/month.
The PlayStation Plus Premium tier includes the ability to play old school games on current hardware. Xbox Game Pass does not include this feature because the Xbox allows for backwards compatibility at no extra charge. Players can pop in certain Xbox 360 and Xbox as well as most Xbox One titles into their Xbox Series X and play them, it does not require an extra download or an extra subscription. While not every Xbox or Xbox 360 game is able to be played, a vast majority of the biggest ones are.
What PlayStation Needs to Change
The new PlayStation Plus tier system seems to be missing what makes Xbox Game Pass a good deal for gamers. There is no separating of the catalog in different tiers through Game Pass like there is with PlayStation Plus. Players who pay $9.99/month will get the same Game Pass library as those who pay $14/99/month. The $14.99/month subscription does include EA Play, but on its own that is a $4.99/month subscription and so it comes out to the same price. PlayStaton Plus subscribers who have the Premium tier will have a vaster library than those who only pay for the Extra tier.
On top of that, Xbox Game Studios puts its games day one into the service. This significantly boosts the value of the service, as subscribers can get their hands on Halo Infinite and Forza Horizon 5 without handing over $60. Instead, they have to pay $10, and they get access to both titles among so many others. Sony has begun pricing its first party titles at $70, which is a hard sell for many players. Providing a service like Game Pass that includes first-party titles day one would go a long way to increasing the value of the subscription, as players would no longer have to fork over their $70 for Horizon: Forbidden West or Ratchet & Clank: RIft-Apart, but instead could have a small monthly sub where they can play these games.
The main feature that the Premium tier offers is the ability to play old-school games on the PS4 or PS5. Charging players for this privilege is in direct contrast to Xbox including that feature at no extra charge. Players do not have to be subscribed to Xbox Game Pass or Xbox Live Gold if they want to play their Xbox 360 or Xbox games on their consoles. Xbox does include 360 and original Xbox games in the Game Pass catalog, but if players own the discs, then they can play them without subscribing to the service.
Sony's decision to make PlayStation Plus a tiered system seems to be its response to Xbox Game Pass. However, through this service, the more money that someone pays the more games that they will have access to, and backwards compatibility has been locked behind the most expensive tier. On top of this, PlayStation Studios titles continue to be $70 and are not included day one in this new subscription like Xbox Game Studios titles are in Xbox Game Pass. While this is a major step for PlayStation, this new version of PlayStation Plus is missing a majority of the features that make Xbox Game Pass such a great deal for gamers.