On Reddit and elsewhere, PlayStation Plus subscribers are worried that a price increase is coming to the Sony subscription service. And these concerns aren’t random, but follow Microsoft’s substantial price increase of Xbox Game Pass. The most expensive tier of the competitor service now costs $30 a month. At its cheapest rate, PlayStation Plus Premium, the most expensive tier, costs $16 a month. This is a big price difference, but it may not last, as Sony has a recent history of matching its competitors.
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When the Xbox Series X increased in price in May, the PS5 followed suit in August with its own price increase, for example. It did a similar thing with game price increases when Xbox got the ball rolling on $70 games. Acting as a counterbalance to this is the fact that we haven’t seen a universal PS Plus price increase since September of 2023. There was a price increase for some back in the spring of this year, but it wasn’t sweeping, and it wasn’t in the United States. Further, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate has dozens and dozens and dozens of day-one games every year. PS Plus has day-one games each year, but not many, saving it a lot in costs and a loss in sales revenue.
A Market Opportunity Is a Market Opportunity
While there is plenty of reason to hope PS Plus won’t increase in price, the fact is if there is a market opportunity, Sony is probably going to take it. It could increase the price of PS Plus, and still offer a far cheaper product in comparison. And considering the dollar and yen are both weaker than they were in 2023, when the last price increase happened, and when costs were lower, it may use this opportunity to get back some of that lost revenue.
“They’re not really comparable products, but yeah, Sony will probably jump at any opportunity to increase prices,” writes one PlayStation Plus subscriber over on Reddit. A second PlayStation fan adds: “Yep, if not soon, eventually. They did the same with console prices.”
A third PlayStation Plus subscriber further adds: “It’s a race to the bottom, and they’re all complicit. There’s no such thing as competition anymore because they’re happy to cooperate and not step on each other’s toes.”
Right now, all we have is speculation, but the concerns of PS Plus subscribers is reasonable. Sony isn’t going to match the crazy price point of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, but we would not be surprised if, in the coming months, the 12-month subscription of PS Plus Premium costs $20 a month. In the meantime, PlayStation Plus subscribers are about to get some great free games for October, and it’s not going to cost them an arm and a leg to get them.
All of that said, and as always, feel free to leave a comment letting us know what you think, or join the conversation over on the ComicBook Forum. How much would you be willing to pay for PS Plus?
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