PlayStation Plus gets a Game Pass-like revamp this June

In an early-morning post on the PlayStation Blog, Sony officially revealed the rumored Project Spartacus, its competitor to Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass subscription service. It doesn’t actually have that name though. Instead, it’s an expansion of Sony’s existing PlayStation Plus online subscription service, which has been divvied up into three tiers. All-new PlayStation Plus launches in June with three flexible membership options. First details:
Starting this June, Sony will start rolling out PlayStation Plus Essential, PlayStation Plus Extra, and PlayStation Plus Premium. The most basic of those tiers, Essential, is the same PlayStation Plus that subscribers know today. It costs $60 a year, offers some discounts, two free games a month, and all the other standard goodies players have come to expect. Extra, which costs $100 a year, combines those services with access to a catalog of up to 400 PS4 and PS5 games, which includes releases from first-party PlayStation developers. While a full list of games that players will get access to has not been revealed, Sony shared that Death Stranding, God of War, Marvel’s Spider-Man, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Mortal Kombat 11, and Returnal will all be included. PlayStation Plus Premium is where users will find a majority of Sony’s new offerings. For $120 a year, users get the benefits of the previous two tiers along with an extra 340 PS1, PS2, PS3, and PSP games, though they aren’t all accessed the same way. PS3 games will only be available via cloud streaming while PS1, PS2, and PSP games will have both streaming and download options. Subscribers to this tier of PlayStation Plus will be able to stream games to their PS4, PS5, and PC. Notably, PlayStation Now subscribers will have their accounts folded into PlayStation Plus Premium when the service launches, without any initial price change. Stacked up against Xbox Game Pass — specifically its Ultimate tier — PlayStation Plus Premium isn’t always going blow for blow. While a yearly membership to PlayStation Plus Platinum costs much less than a year of Game Pass Ultimate ($120 for Platinum and $166 for Ultimate), it doesn’t give players easy access to nearly as much content. PS3 games being available exclusively through cloud streaming is a standout here, especially when games released on every other PlayStation console can either be streamed or downloaded. However, the biggest deal-breaker here is that first-party PlayStation games won’t be released directly onto any of PlayStation Plus, a feature that Game Pass users enjoy often. According to an interview with PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan, that won’t be changing either. In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Ryan said that releasing directly onto the subscription service would, in fact, hurt the platform’s first-party games. “We feel like we are in a good virtuous cycle with the studios where the investment delivers success, which enables yet more investment, which delivers yet more success,” said Ryan. “We like that cycle and we think our gamers like that cycle.” Sucker Punch’s upcoming Ghost of Yotei promises yet another authentic dive into Japan’s rich history and culture. The first game, Ghost of Tsushima, was the PS4’s swansong thanks to its breathtaking visuals, novel approach to open world design, satisfying combat, and respect for history. That game is certainly worth experiencing first if you haven’t played it yet, but it won’t help prepare you for Ghost of Yotei beyond getting familiar with how the game is played. This sequel takes place in a different time, location, and with a new protagonist. We don’t know everything about the plot, of course, but I have been able to pull together all the important historical and cultural details that Sucker Punch has highlighted as being focal points in the game. Let’s take a dive into the history and culture Ghost of Yotei aims to explore when it comes out on October 2. The biggest PS5 exclusive of the year is right around the corner, and millions of us are already sharpening our katanas in anticipation. Ghost of Yotei is the follow-up to 2020’s Ghost of Tsushima, which revolutionized the look and feel of open world games. Beyond being a visual masterpiece and featuring a rich story that honors the real history of Tsushima, the approach to game design was unlike anything we had seen before. This sequel looks to build upon all those factors, only now set hundreds of years in the future, with a new protagonist named Atsu on a quest for revenge. The only thing the wind can’t guide you to is the preload details, which is where I come in to make sure you can start your journey as soon as possible. Ghost of Yotei release date I’ve never felt less certain in myself than I have in the past few months. Professionally, I have found myself in a dream position, but the way I got here felt more like an accident than something I earned. Personally, I have fallen into a routine so consistent that NPCs have more complex patterns. Having full control over my work should be a blessing, but it has only saddled me with immense doubt over my abilities. Was I ever really talented, or was it just the oversight of others that made my work even passable? It is all textbook imposter syndrome, yet recognizing it doesn’t make it any easier to overcome. I was late to the party with Hollow Knight, only getting around to it on my PS5 after it had been on PS Plus for who knows how long. I was well aware of its reputation at that point, but was worried that the expectations the internet had set for me would be too high. To some extent, that was true; I deeply enjoyed the experience but don’t hold it up as the pinnacle of game design. As a cozy experience that I chipped away at 45 minutes at a time before bed, it was perfect. Upgrade your lifestyleDigital Trends helps readers keep tabs on the fast-paced world of tech with all the latest news, fun product reviews, insightful editorials, and one-of-a-kind sneak peeks.