Over the past couple months, there have been persistent rumors Sony is looking to take it to Xbox Game Pass with an upgraded tiered subscription service, codenamed “Spartacus,” that would combine and improve on PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now (and probably retain the PS Plus branding). But what exactly can we expect from the new service? Well, in the latest episode of his Grubbsnax show, Jeff Grubb provided some new details about what we can expect from each of the new PS Plus’ three planned tiers.
According to Grubb, the “Essential” tier will cost $10 a month and offer what PS Plus does now (online play and monthly “free” games). Next up will be the “Extra” tier, which will cost $13 and essentially combine PS Plus and the current PS Now catalog. Most interesting is the “Premium” tier, which will cost $16 and offer everything in the Extra tier along with new game trials, classic games, and cloud streaming. Here’s a bit more detail courtesy of Grubb (thanks to Video Games Chronicle for the transcription)…
For premium, $16 a month… do you get full games? Not really, kinda… it’s like EA Play. You get full game trials. I don’t know if that’s for every single game that comes out, but it seems like that. […] You also get classic games and streaming, none of the other tiers will have cloud streaming, you also get classic games. I don’t know what classic games means, but I do know that it’s a major part of this premium tier. So you have game trials, classic games and streaming on this premium tier.
Without Day 1 first-party game releases Sony’s new version of PS Plus will remain at a disadvantage compared to Game Pass. That said, given the depth of Sony’s back catalog, they could entice some new subscribers if they’re willing to dig deep enough. Give me some Ape Escape and PaRappa the Rapper and I’ll consider signing up, Sony.
As for when Sony might announce this new service, Grubb indicates milestones are being met behind the scenes, but that doesn’t necessarily mean a public reveal is coming just yet. Of course, take all of this information with a grain of salt for now, but it certainly seems like Sony’s got some irons in the fire.
What do you think? Does the new service described her sound appealing? Or does Sony need to do more to secure your monthly payment?
