PS Now and PS Plus Merged To Create New Three-tier Subscription Service

Goodbye PlayStation Plus, hello PlayStation Plus?

The cat is finally out of the bag, and PlayStation has revealed its newest subscription service, PlayStation Plus. Yes, PlayStation has kept the same name, which makes sense as not to cause any confusion. Plus, it’s already a widely known name, so there wasn’t any reason to change it—good riddance PlayStation Project Spartacus.

PlayStation Plus has been split into four different tiers in this new subscription service model, each with a specific offering and price tag. These new tiers are PlayStation Plus Essential, PlayStation Plus Extra, PlayStation Plus Premium, and PlayStation Plus Deluxe.

While the PlayStation Now service will be absorbed into the PlayStation Plus tier, existing PlayStation Now subscribers will be migrated into PlayStation Plus Premium for no extra cost. PlayStation Plus Deluxe, however, is only for markets that don’t have great or reliable internet, thus will come without the PS Now component for cloud streaming. Instead, it will allow subscribers to download PlayStation 1, PlayStation 2, PSP games, and timed demos. Benefits from Essential and Extra tiers will also be included.

All four of the PlayStation Plus tiers will start being rolled out this June 2022, in Asia, North America, and Europe regions, to the other regions where PlayStation Plus is offered in currently.

There are a few things I’ll point out now, and later in a different article, is that day one PlayStation 5 games are not mentioned. You may recall that PlayStation’s Jim Ryan was very local about bringing day one games to PlayStation Plus is not a viable solution for them. That and backward compatible games are being held behind a paywall with the PlayStation Plus Plus tier. I’m not a fan of this change. Lastly, there hasn’t been any word on if the backward compatible games will include trophy support. 

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

• Benefits:
  • 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.

• Price*:
• 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

PlayStation Deluxe

• Benefits: (For markets without cloud streaming, PlayStation Plus Deluxe will be offered at a lower price compared to Premium, and includes a catalog of beloved classic games from the original PlayStation, PS2 and PSP generations to download and play, along with time-limited game trials. Benefits from Essential and Extra tiers are also included. Local pricing will vary by market)

Look for the upcoming PlayStation Plus changes to be rolled out this June 2022.

Source: PlayStation Blog