Earlier this week, Sony revealed its answer to Xbox Game Pass, which came in the form of a brand new tiered version ofPlayStation Plus. Instead of creating a new service like Xbox did with Xbox Game Pass, PlayStation will be combiningPlayStation Plusand 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 upthe 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.
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PlayStation Plus Tier System Explained
The newly announcedtier system for PlayStation Pluswill 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.
How Xbox Game Pass Differs
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 theXbox allows for backwards compatibilityat 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.
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What PlayStation Needs to Change
Sony’s decision to makePlayStation Plus a tiered systemseems 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 ofPlayStation Plusis missing a majority of the features that make Xbox Game Pass such a great deal for gamers.
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