PlayStation is revamping the PlayStation Plus subscription model with a three-tier based system. It’s essentially the existing PlayStation Plus and the PlayStation Now subscriptions mashed together. What are the tiers? Are there any price changes? Is this better than Xbox Game Pass? We’ll answer all your burning questions about the new subscriptions from PlayStation.
Everything you need to know about the new PlayStation Plus subscriptions
Xbox Game Pass rival?
What are the three tiers for me?
Dear reader, there are now three plans to choose from, quite similar to how you would have with any OTT streaming subscription service. But with the new PlayStation Plus subscriptions the concept is simple — pay more, get more.
PlayStation Plus Essential: This is the same as the current PlayStation Plus subscription. You get two monthly downloadable games, exclusive discounts, cloud storage for saved games and online multiplayer access. If you’re a PlayStation Plus member right now then there are no changes to your existing subscription and the price remains the same. Prices are ₹499 for 1 month, ₹1,199 for 3 months and ₹2,999 for 12 months.
PlayStation Plus Extra: Here’s where the Netflix-like game subscription starts. You get everything from the PlayStation Plus Essentials plan and you get a catalogue of 400 games (PS4 and PS5) to download and play. These will also include PlayStation Studio games. The list of games for India is not disclosed yet. We will update you when PlayStation decides to do so. Prices are ₹749 for 1 month, ₹1,999 for 3 months and ₹4,999 for 12 months.
PlayStation Plus Premium: This one is where the old PS Now subscription merges with the PS Plus. Firstly you get all the stuff from PlayStation Plus Essential and Extra. And then you get an extra 340 games which include PS3 games (via cloud streaming) and a meaty catalogue of PS1, PS2 and PSP games (available to cloud stream or download). Here you also get time-limited game trials before you can buy the game.
PlayStation Plus Deluxe: Now you’re wondering if India doesn’t have PS Now (cloud streaming service) then PS Plus Premium is meaningless, right? Well, here’s where the Deluxe tier jumps in and boots the streaming bit. In this subscription, you pay a bit less than the Premium plan and get PS1, PS2 and PSP games to download and play, along with time-limited game trials. You also get those games and benefits from Essential and Extra plans. Prices are ₹849 for 1 month, ₹2,299 for 3 months and ₹5,749 for 12 months.
There are four plans, you lied to me! Now tell me the prices.
I didn’t lie. If you’re not in the US, Canada, Japan, UK, France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Austria, Switzerland, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Sweden then game streaming is not available to you and that makes PlayStation Plus Deluxe the third choice.
So Indians will not see any game streaming benefits till PlayStation decides to expand the service in our region.
The Indian prices for PlayStation Plus Essential are ₹499 for 1 month, ₹1,199 for 3 months and ₹2,999 for 12 months. For PlayStation Plus Extra it is ₹749 for 1 month, ₹1,999 for 3 months and ₹4,999 for 12 months. And lastly, PlayStation Plus Deluxe will cost you ₹849 for 1 month, ₹2,299 for 3 months and ₹5,749 for 12 months.
When will the new plans be out and what about my current PS Plus subscription?
PlayStation says that the new subscription model will start rolling out from June onwards. If you have a PS Plus subscription then you’ll be automatically slam-dunked into the PlayStation Plus Essential subscription.
What if I want to upgrade my subscription?
You can simply do that from your console by going into the PlayStation Store and into the Subscriptions tab. From there, it's a matter for picking your yearly or monthly options from the three available plans. If you have one or maybe two years of PS Plus subscription then it will readjust the cost accordingly. Very similar to Netflix's execution.
Will I get first-party PS titles on the day of release?
The longer answer is ‘fingers crossed’ and the short answer is ‘no’. PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan said in an interview with Gamesindustry.biz that putting PlayStation Studio games on the day of launch on these subscription models is not something PlayStation has done before and might not want to do so for some time. His reasoning is that they will not be able to make the heavy investments in their first-party titles as they do now and that may affect the quality of the games.
That said, games like Death Stranding, God of War, Marvel’s Spider-Man, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Mortal Kombat 11, and Returnal will be coming to Extra and Premium tier subscriptions.
Ryan also added, "The way the world is changing so very quickly at the moment, nothing is forever". This essentially means that they may or may not start to flirt with the idea of adding games on the day of launch but just not right now. He also went on to say that PlayStation exclusive titles were not there on PC four or so years ago and now they are starting to launch them there too, and are getting great commercial success.