How the new PlayStation Plus stacks up against Xbox Game Pass

More than a month after revealing the updated version of PlayStation Plus, Sony has participated in Initial lineup of games Heading to its new service, which covers everything from classic PlayStation games and PlayStation Portable titles to modern games. The New playstation plus It has three tiers, each priced separately and offering different levels of goodies, all set to launch June 13 in the Americas.

Now that we know what games will be included in each level – PlayStation Plus Essential, Extra and Premium – it’s easy to compare Sony’s service directly to that of its biggest competitor, Xbox Game Pass from Microsoft.

New playstation plus

Sony’s subscription service is divided into three parts, with different games and features available depending on how much you pay. Costing $10 a month or $60 a year, PS Plus Essential is basically the Plus we know now, offering two games to download each month, access to online multiplayer features, cloud storage and discounts.

The PS Plus Extra costs $15 per month or $100 per year, and offers everything in the basic tier plus a library of up to 400 downloadable games on PS4 and PS5.

The last option, PS Plus Premium, costs $18 per month or $120 per year, and adds up to 340 games from the original PlayStation, PS2, PSP, PS3, and PS4 eras. This is also where live streaming comes into play: Sony is integrating its existing cloud service, PlayStation Now, into the new Plus ecosystem, but only at its most expensive level. Premium adds the ability to play select PS3 titles from the cloud, and stream or download lower-level games from the original PlayStation, PS2, PSP and PS4 eras (cloud play is Only available in regions where PS Now actually works). Streaming will work on PS4, PS5, and PC, while cloud-native games on mobile devices aren’t possible on Sony’s network.

Now, the games. Sony confirmed Just over 100 titles are trending on PS Plus Extra and Premium, including demon soulsAnd Ghost Cut Out TsushimaAnd Horizon Zero DawnAnd The last of us remasteredAnd Gravity Rush RemasteredAnd The Last Guard, Tokyo Jungle, EchoAnd Tekken 2And Asura’s wrathAnd monkey escape And Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. This last game was included on the list as part of a deal to offer a few dozen Ubisoft + Classics games to Extra and Premium subscribers.

Most of the games on Sony’s roster are from the PS4 and PS5 generations, which is good news for additional subscribers. However, Sony’s initial lineup of old-school games feels poor, despite it being an important feature in the Premium category. There is a focus on PS3 games, with 29 games available to stream, and relatively few games from earlier eras. While there are some PS4 remasters of PS2 games on the list, including Rogue Galaxy And the Jak and Daxter series, so far Sony’s service does not contain original PS2 games.

There’s still hope for nostalgia seekers — Sony said its list of classic games is an “early look at a selection of games that will be available,” so there should be more to come.

However, don’t look to PS Plus for trending new Sony games. PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan said: gamesindustry.biz In March, new first-party titles will not arrive on PS Plus on day one, which means subscribers will have to pay for them separately. This is noteworthy because Microsoft made a good deal of offering its internal titles to Game Pass subscribers at launch.

Ryan said his attitude to the first day drops could change, but for now, don’t expect titles like spider man 2 or God of War Ragnarok On PS Plus at any level.

Xbox Game Pass

on the roof, game arcade It has been a successful endeavor for Microsoft, with 25 million subscribers per month and the number is growing. Game Pass unlocks access to a large library of old and new games, including first-day releases of first-party titles like Halo: infinite And starfield (In the end); It works across Xbox consoles and PCs, and includes cloud features that make embedded games playable on mobile devices.

Game Pass’s library contains about 300 games, although Microsoft continues to market the service with low numbers of “over 100” titles. The lineup extends the original Xbox to the current generation, adding the Xbox Live Gold tier and access to EA Play. Bass game has heavy hitters like Halo: The Master Chief Collection And Halo: infinitethe original death and its recent follow-up, Forza Horizon 5And Legendary Edition Mass Effect And Microsoft Flight Simulatoras well as indie games including blue diaryAnd Kentucky Road ZeroAnd Outer PrairieAnd death door And Spelunky 2.

Microsoft has sole access to some of these games because it owns a large part of the video game industry. Xbox Game Studios has 23 development teams, including ID Software, Bethesda Softworks, Arkane, Ninja Theory, Playground Games, Double Fine, and Mojang. All of this ensures that Game Pass has an exclusive bank to take advantage of – in practice, PS Plus won’t get games from these studios unless Microsoft allows it. The reverse is also true for Sony’s list of exclusives, but Microsoft simply has more to work with in this regard.

Game Pass has PC-only and console-only levels that provide access to the library and not much more, and they each cost $10 per month. Neither option includes cloud gaming or Xbox Live Gold, which is necessary to play some titles online and costs $10 per month on its own. Microsoft doesn’t do much to market these standalone levels, and instead directs players to Game Pass Ultimate, which is the main hub of the Xbox subscription system.

Game Pass Ultimate costs $15 per month and offers Xbox Live Gold, cloud gaming features, and access to every game in the console and PC lineup. This is the all-in-one option, which works on Xbox consoles, PCs, and mobile devices via the cloud.

PS Plus vs Game Pass

There are some stark differences between the new PS Plus and Game Pass. Sony’s subscription plan has fewer games (for now), doesn’t include mobile streaming and won’t provide first-day access to new first-party titles, which means serious PlayStation fans will have to pay for these big milestones separately.

In terms of pricing, let’s focus on the higher tiers: PS Plus Premium costs $18 a month or $120 a year, and Game Pass Ultimate is $15 a month. The cost is comparable, but at a more flexible pricing level, the Sony plan is $3 more per month than the Microsoft plan. This is an additional payment of $36 annually. However, PS Plus Premium is $60 less than Game Pass Ultimate per year.

Of course, cost is not the only consideration here. With competing subscription services, Sony and Microsoft are doubling down on exclusives as a major source of momentum, and maintaining a rich and unique library will be key to the success of these plans. Xbox may have more than 20 studios, but Sony can still provide games that Microsoft can’t, and titles like demon soulsAnd Gravity Rush RemasteredAnd Tokyo Forest, Echo And Assassin’s Creed Valhalla It’s a huge draw for longtime PlayStation fans.

However, the decision not to include day one first-party games in PS Plus could lose Sony subscribers, as well as some goodwill. The new PS Plus also appears to be missing some meat from its classic catalog, a move that could turn potential Premium subscribers off, but Sony is just getting started and there’s plenty of room for growth. That is, if Jim Ryan and his team see the value in adding content to the service.