PlayStation Combines PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now Into New Tiered Subscription Service

By Rollin Bishop

Following months of reports about PlayStation merging PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now into a single subscription service, PlayStation has finally announced that it is doing exactly that with the launch of what it's still calling PlayStation Plus. Beginning this June in specific markets, PlayStation Plus will have different tiers with certain benefits associated with each: PlayStation Plus Essential, PlayStation Plus Extra, and PlayStation Plus Premium.

"The new Extra and Premium tiers represent a major evolution for PlayStation Plus," shared Jim Ryan, President and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, as part of the announcement. "With these tiers, our key focus is to ensure that the hundreds of games we offer will include the best quality content that sets us apart. At launch, we plan to include titles such as Death Stranding, God of War, Marvel's Spider-Man, Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Mortal Kombat 11, and Returnal. We're working closely with our imaginative developers from PlayStation Studios and third-party partners to include some of the best gaming experiences available with a library that will be regularly refreshed. More details to come on the games we'll have on our new PlayStation Plus service."

You can check out the specific breakdown of the three tiers and their pricing below, straight from the source:

PlayStation Plus Essential

Benefits:

Provides the same benefits that PlayStation Plus members are getting today, such as:

  • Two monthly downloadable games
  • Exclusive discounts
  • Cloud storage for saved games
  • Online multiplayer access

There are no changes for existing PlayStation Plus members in this tier.

Price for PlayStation Plus Essential remains the same as the current price for PlayStation Plus.

  • United States: $9.99 monthly / $24.99 quarterly / $59.99 yearly
  • Europe: €8.99 monthly / €24.99 quarterly / €59.99 yearly
  • United Kingdom: £6.99 monthly / £19.99 quarterly / £49.99 yearly
  • Japan: ¥850 monthly / ¥2,150 quarterly / ¥5,143 yearly

PlayStation Plus Extra

Benefits:

Provides all the benefits from the Essential tier

Adds a catalog of up to 400 of the most enjoyable PS4 and PS5 games – including blockbuster hits from our PlayStation Studios catalog and third-party partners. Games in the Extra tier are downloadable for play.

Price:

  • United States: $14.99 monthly / $39.99 quarterly / $99.99 yearly
  • Europe: €13.99 monthly / €39.99 quarterly / €99.99 yearly
  • United Kingdom: £10.99 monthly / £31.99 quarterly / £83.99 yearly
  • Japan: ¥1,300 monthly / ¥3,600 quarterly / ¥8,600 yearly

PlayStation Plus Premium

Provides all the benefits from Essential and Extra tiers

Adds up to 340 additional games, including:

  • PS3 games available via cloud streaming
  • A catalog of beloved classic games available in both streaming and download options from the original PlayStation, PS2 and PSP generations

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.

Time-limited game trials will also be offered in this tier, so customers can try select games before they buy.

  • United States: $17.99 monthly / $49.99 quarterly / $119.99 yearly
  • Europe: €16.99 monthly / €49.99 quarterly / €119.99 yearly
  • United Kingdom: £13.49 monthly / £39.99 quarterly / £99.99 yearly
  • Japan: ¥1,550 – monthly / ¥4,300 – quarterly / ¥10,250 yearly

There are several caveats to the new tiered subscription service, however. For example, in markets without cloud streaming, PlayStation Plus Deluxe will be offered at a price comparable to PlayStation Plus Premium and include "a catalog of beloved classic games from the original PlayStation, PS2 and PSP generations to download and play, along with time-limited game trials." This will also include the benefits from PlayStation Plus Essential and PlayStation Plus Extra. The exact catalog of PlayStation Plus titles will also vary by market and tier.

As noted above, the new tiered version of PlayStation Plus with PlayStation Plus Essential, PlayStation Plus Extra, and PlayStation Plus Premium is set to start rolling out regionally in several markets beginning this June. Asia first, then North America, then Europe, and then the rest of the planet where PlayStation Plus is currently offered. You can check out all of our previous coverage of PlayStation in general right here.

What do you think about the new tiered version of PlayStation Plus? Will you be subscribing to one of the expanded models? Let us know in the comments, or feel free to reach out and hit me up directly over on Twitter at @rollinbishop in order to talk about all things gaming!

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