After a solid few months of rumours, Sony finally revealed “Project Spartacus” late last night. The project brings PS Now into the fold of PlayStation Plus, alongside other additions like a catalogue of PS4 and even PSP games.
There are three tiers to the new PlayStation Plus, which starts with “PlayStation Plus Essential,” which is exactly what it sounds like. Then there’s the addition of “PlayStation Plus Extra” and “PlayStation Plus Premium”, which add the benefits of PS Now (which will now be closing) and a few other benefits, including a gaming collection.
The service changes don’t look to challenge Xbox Game Pass but instead combine PS Now into the service while offering a library of older titles. PlayStation has mentioned that PlayStation Plus Extra and PlayStation Plus Premium will have access to a library of over 340 games, including first-party titles like Death Stranding, God of War, Marvel’s Spider-Man, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Mortal Kombat 11, and Returnal.
CEO of PlayStation, Jim Ryan, confirmed in an interview with GamesIndustry.Biz that they wouldn’t be launching their first-party games day-and-date on the service, which is the exact opposite of Microsoft’s plans.
“[In terms of] putting our own games into this service, or any of our services, upon their release… as you well know, this is not a road that we’ve gone down in the past. And it’s not a road that we’re going to go down with this new service. We feel if we were to do that with the games that we make at PlayStation Studios, that virtuous cycle will be broken. The level of investment that we need to make in our studios would not be possible, and we think the knock-on effect on the quality of the games that we make would not be something that gamers want.”
Here’s how it all breaks down.
PlayStation Plus Essential
Benefits
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Provides the same benefits that PlayStation Plus members are getting today, such as:
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Two monthly downloadable games
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Exclusive discounts
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Cloud storage for saved games
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Online multiplayer access
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There are no changes for existing PlayStation Plus members in this tier.
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United States prices
$9.99 monthly / $24.99 quarterly / $59.99 yearly
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Australian Prices (current PS Plus prices)
$11.95 monthly / $33.95 quarterly / $79.95 yearly
PlayStation Plus Extra
Benefits
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Provides all the benefits from the Essential tier
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Adds a catalogue of up to 400 of the most enjoyable PS4 and PS5 games – including blockbuster hits from our PlayStation Studios catalogue and third-party partners. Games in the Extra tier are downloadable for play.
Price
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United States prices
$14.99 monthly / $39.99 quarterly / $99.99 yearly
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Australia (price estimates based upon conversion)
$19.95 monthly / $55.95 quarterly / $134.95 yearly
PlayStation Plus Premium
Benefits
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Provides all the benefits from Essential and Extra tiers
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Adds up to 340 additional games, including:
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PS3 games available via cloud streaming
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A catalogue of beloved classic games available in both streaming and download options from the original PlayStation, PS2 and PSP generations
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Offers cloud streaming access for original PlayStation, PS2, PSP and PS4 games offered in the Extra and Premium tiers in markets where PlayStation Now is currently available. Customers can stream games using PS4 and PS5 consoles, and PC.
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Time-limited game trials will also be offered in this tier, so customers can try select games before they buy.
Price
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United States prices
$17.99 monthly / $49.99 quarterly / $119.99 yearly -
Australia (price estimates based upon conversion)
$24.95 monthly / $69.95 quarterly / $179.95 yearly
The pricing on PlayStation Plus Premium for Australia will be different, at least at launch, as we don’t have access to cloud streaming. PlayStation has stated that instead, those who can’t access cloud streaming will get access to “PlayStation Now Deluxe” which will be “offered at a lower price than Premium in markets without cloud streaming and includes a catalogue of beloved classic games from the original PlayStation, PS2 and PSP generations to download and play with time-limited game trials. Benefits from Essential and Extra tiers are also included.” But given the PS3 games are a big reason players subscribe to PS Now at the moment and will be a key reason many want to upgrade their PlayStation Plus subscription, it’ll be interesting to see how different the subscription numbers are in the cloud streaming vs non-streaming markets.
Of course, PlayStation wants to get cloud streaming into every country globally, and I’m sure Australia will get it eventually. I’ve been covering that subject for some time here at Explosion Network, but it doesn’t look like it’ll be anytime soon.
PlayStation will begin rolling out the new PlayStation Plus service in a staggered release around the globe from June.
Will you be subscribing to any of the two new services or leaving your PlayStation Plus membership as it is? Let me know in the comment section below.
