Sony's overhauled PS Plus service launches in June
Three tiers confirmed.
Following months of unconfirmed reports, Sony has finally made its long-rumoured PlayStation Plus overhaul official.
The new service, which launches in June, combines features of both PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now into one service with three distinct subscription tiers.
The three tiers are as follows:
PlayStation Plus Essential (£6.99 monthly / £19.99 quarterly / £49.99 yearly) offers the same benefits as PlayStation Plus now, namely two monthly downloadable games, online multiplayer access, cloud storage for saved games, and extra discounts.
PlayStation Plus Extra (£10.99 monthly / £31.99 quarterly / £83.99 yearly) adds to the above a catalogue of 400 PS4 and PS5 games to download "including blockbuster hits from our PlayStation Studios catalogue and third-party partners".
PlayStation Plus Premium (£13.49 monthly / £39.99 quarterly / £99.99 yearly) goes further, with 340 additional games. PS3 games will be available to stream, while classic PS1, PS2 and PSP games will be available to stream or download. Time-limited game trials will also be included for players to try before they buy.
At launch, Death Stranding, God of War, Marvel's Spider-Man, Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Mortal Kombat 11, and Returnal will be included in the Extra and Premium tiers.
From June, PlayStation Now will transition to the new-look service and no longer be available as a standalone product. Existing customers will be automatically moved to the Premium tier. Existing PlayStation Plus users will remain on the Essential tier.
The launch begins in June with a phased regional approach, starting in Asia, followed by North America, Europe and the rest of the world where PlayStation Plus is offered. Sony aims to have "most" PlayStation Network territories live with the new service by the end of the first half of 2022. Cloud streaming benefits will also be extended to new territories, with details coming soon.
"Building upon more than 25 years of expertise in gaming innovation, this change to our subscription services highlights our continued efforts to evolve our network services business to match our customer's preferences," reads a new PlayStation Blog on the service.
"With the all-new PlayStation Plus, we're focused on delivering a compelling game subscription service with curated content from our exclusive PlayStation Studios team and our third-party partners. The newly enhanced PlayStation Plus will enable our fans to discover and engage with more content than ever before, and deepen their connection with the PlayStation community through shared experiences."
Expect more details in the run up to the service's release.