While Sony has been relatively cold on various subscription services for a long time, see, say, the unnecessary initial resistance of EA Play, and with the partial exception of PS Now, it does not offer a Game Pass alternative, there could be a major shift in this regard. . This is noted by Jason Schreyer in an article in Bloomberg, where he claims that PlayStation is planning a new subscription service similar to Game Pass, which will combine the advantages of PS Now and PS Plus. Classically refers to unnamed sources and documents.
All the benefits together so far and more up front
The service, codenamed Spartacus, should give PlayStation gamers access to a catalog of new and old games for a monthly fee. The subscription should work on PS4 and PS5. The service is said to be able to launch in the spring and, as previously mentioned, will link PlayStation Plus and Now. The PS Plus software will likely remain separate. Details are still being refined at the moment, but all the PS Plus benefits will be a matter of course. This means free multiplayer games every month and some discounts. A large catalog of PS4 games will be added to it, and the list of PS5 titles will gradually grow. The third feature is the extended shows, streaming versions, and catalog of classics from PS1, PS2, PS3, and PSP.
Sony has yet to comment on these speculations, not even on other media questions. Bloomberg notes that while PlayStation is doing well in the console space, it may have fallen behind the competition with its subscription. Game Pass is gaining more and more popularity on both Xbox and PC, and is constantly expanding its offering thanks to numerous studio acquisitions and attracting more subscribers. In addition, the Ultimate Edition also offers cloud streaming and EA Play games.
Game Pass celebrates this success, among other things, because it offers all the new attractive games from Microsoft, including exclusives, often featuring titles from other developers and publishers on the first day. Sony may not plan for this and the new service catalog may more closely match the PS Now configuration.
On the other hand, Sony has repeatedly stated in the past that such a program is pointless given first-party production and cost. Jim Ryan literally called it unsustainable because its exclusivity cost over $100 million. Former PlayStation senior director Sean Layden has also questioned Game Pass. On the other hand, Microsoft has argued several times that the software is quite viable and worthwhile.
The problem certainly lies in the fact that the PlayStation Now service, for example, is not officially supported in our country, so a possible upgrade should go hand in hand with expanding the regions where the service is available. But access to first party games will also play an equally important role. Game Pass celebrates this success, among other things, because it offers all the new attractive games from Microsoft, including exclusives, often featuring titles from other developers and publishers on the first day. Sony may not plan for this and the new service catalog may more closely match the PS Now configuration. Then it would make sense, for example, to change its mind about the subscription of the Japanese giant. Thus, they do not necessarily see the same risks.
