Since its debut in 2010,PlayStation Plushas developed into an integral part of Sony’s gaming ecosystem. What started out as a subscription service designed for players to access free content each month has become a necessity to play most online games on PS4 and PS5. Given this transition, it’s not surprising that credible rumors are circulating to suggestPS Plus is about to evolveagain.
In an effort to keepPlayStation Plusas relevant as possible in the face of Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass, rumors suggest combining PS Plus and PS Now - Sony’s Netflix-inspired subscription service - is just one approach being considered to make the publisher’s offerings more robust. If Sony is determined to take its services to the next level, it needs to address some of the complaints that players have had recently. The way in which players access PS5 upgrades has been a particular topic of contention.
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PS Plus’ PS5 Upgrades
The number of games that release as upgradable cross-gen titles is only going to expand as well. Because of the difficulties Sony and Microsoft are having when makingthe PS5 and Xbox Series X, it’s easy to envision games still being released on the old consoles for a while. There’s plenty of incentive for third-party publishers to jump on free PS Plus upgrades as a result. Players will likely be happier to invest in a game knowing they’ll be able to keep playing once they upgrade their console. Considering how the rumored PS Plus expansion will likely cost more, there’s opportunity for Sony to give third parties a bigger slice of the revenue.
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PS5’s Paid Upgrades
Boosting PS Plus' Value
Based on the prominence of the PS Plus logo within the PS5’s recent beta software build, it looks like the subscription service is going to play an even bigger role inthe PlayStation ecosystem going forward. If rumors are to be believed, one of the ways in which Sony will achieve this is through the integration of PlayStation Now into PS Plus’ new subscription tiers. Reports point to there being three tiers available, with the most expensive one being an option that combines both services. While that sounds good on paper, as it stands now PS Now is noticeably lacking when it comes to PS5 content.
Thanks to the sales figures for Sony’s first-party games, and the amount of money players are being asked to spend on them, it seems unlikely thatPS Plus’ combined librarywill feature day-one PS5 content similar to Xbox Game Pass. Adding free PS5 upgrades could be an option that Sony explores in order to overcome these shortcomings. If the rumoredPS Plusoverhaul does become a reality, there will be plenty of older cross-gen games on the market ripe for the free upgrade treatment.
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