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PlayStation Plus vs Xbox Game Pass; the subscription service wars

The new PlayStation Plus subscription service has finally been announced and has some people excited and some not so.

The ‘all new’ PlayStation Plus tiered model has finally been announced after many rumours and is the combination of the old PlayStation Plus and the regionally locked PlayStation Now, which is good news for people living in Australia as we’ll finally get our hands on it.

As a recap, PlayStation Plus is the service for online multiplayer with the addition of monthly free titles and discounts, whereas PlayStation Now is the service that grants users access to an extensive library of old PlayStation titles.

The new service, scheduled for launch in June of this year, is broken up into three tiers that provide a range of benefits; PlayStation Plus Essential, PlayStation Plus Extra, and PlayStation Plus Premium.

PlayStation Plus subscription
Image: PlayStation Plus subscription / PlayStation

PlayStation Plus Essential is the base model, and it is identical to the current subscription offer available to players. The real differentiation starts with the 2nd and 3rd tiers.

For $14.99 USD per month, Plus Extra will give you all of the features of Essential plus access to a library of 400 PS4 and PS5 titles.

Plus Premium, for 17.99 USD per month, will have the benefits of the previous models plus an extra 340 games, including PS1, PS2, and PSP titles.

In the blog post, Playstation also announces an additional service for select markets called Playstation Plus Deluxe for markets without cloud streaming, available at a lower price than Premium and includes access to a collection of classic titles.

PS5 Games
Image: PlayStation 5 Games

Xbox Game Pass currently gives you access to over 454 titles at the moment and is $9.99 USD per month for the standard version, and Game Pass Ultimate is $14.99 USD per month.

Other than the pricing, the main aspect that people are pointing at is that PlayStation hasn’t mentioned day one releases on its new or exclusive titles, something that Xbox Game Pass provides.

The service isn’t even out yet, so there could still be changes made based on the audience’s perception of the value it brings. For the time being, Xbox Game Pass appears to be the better deal, but it has also had longer to work on its service.

Time will tell if PlayStation can evolve into an equal competitor in the coming years.