Sony Unveils New PlayStation Plus Service, Previously PlayStation Spartacus

Sony Unveils New PlayStation Plus Service, Previously PlayStation Spartacus

PlayStation has unveiled the rumored PlayStation service that would combine PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now and serve as a competitor to Xbox‘s Game Pass. Previously known as “Spartacus,” the new service is spread across three tiers. PlayStation Plus Essential, PlayStation Plus Extra, and PlayStation Plus Premium. The lowest tier provides subscribers with the same benefits that PlayStation Plus has been providing with the other two tiers combining PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now. All three tiers will launch this June, but no official release date was given.

Check out more information on the three tiers below:

PlayStation Plus Essential

• Benefits: 
  • Provides the same benefits that PlayStation Plus members are getting today, such as:
    • Two monthly downloadable games
    • Exclusive discounts
    • Cloud storage for saved games
    • Online multiplayer access
  • There are no changes for existing PlayStation Plus members in this tier.
     
• Price for PlayStation Plus Essential remains the same as the current price for PlayStation Plus.
  • United States
    • $9.99 monthly / $24.99 quarterly / $59.99 yearly
  • Europe
    • €8.99 monthly / €24.99 quarterly / €59.99 yearly
  • United Kingdom
    • £6.99 monthly / £19.99 quarterly / £49.99 yearly 
  • Japan
    • ¥850 monthly / ¥2,150 quarterly / ¥5,143 yearly

PlayStation Plus Extra

• Benefits: 
  • Provides all the benefits from the Essential tier
  • Adds a catalog of up to 400* of the most enjoyable PS4 and PS5 games – including blockbuster hits from our PlayStation Studios catalog and third-party partners. Games in the Extra tier are downloadable for play.
• Price:
  • United States
    • $14.99 monthly / $39.99 quarterly / $99.99 yearly
  • Europe
    • €13.99 monthly / €39.99 quarterly / €99.99 yearly
  • United Kingdom
    • £10.99 monthly / £31.99 quarterly / £83.99 yearly 
  • Japan
    • ¥1,300 monthly / ¥3,600 quarterly / ¥8,600 yearly

PlayStation Plus Premium 

• Benefits:
  • Provides all the benefits from Essential and Extra tiers
  • Adds up to 340* additional games, including:
    • PS3 games available via cloud streaming
    • A catalog of beloved classic games available in both streaming and download options from the original PlayStation, PS2 and PSP generations 
  • Offers cloud streaming access for original PlayStation, PS2, PSP and PS4 games offered in the Extra and Premium tiers in markets** where PlayStation Now is currently available. Customers can stream games using PS4 and PS5 consoles, and PC.*** 
  • Time-limited game trials will also be offered in this tier, so customers can try select games before they buy.
• Price:
  • United States
    • $17.99 monthly / $49.99 quarterly / $119.99 yearly
  • Europe
    • €16.99 monthly / €49.99 quarterly / €119.99 yearly
  • United Kingdom
    • £13.49 monthly / £39.99 quarterly / £99.99 yearly 
  • Japan
    • ¥1,550 – monthly / ¥4,300 – quarterly / ¥10,250 yearly
      
• PlayStation Plus Deluxe (Select Markets) in markets that don’t have cloud streaming, PlayStation Plus Deluxe will be an option at a lower price in comparison to Premium. This special tier will include a catalog of beloved classic games from PS1, PS2, and PSP generations that subscribers can download and play. Additionally, subscribers will have access to time-limited game trials and will include the benefits from the Essential and Extra tiers.

The press release reads:

“The new Extra and Premium tiers represent a major evolution for PlayStation Plus. With these tiers, our key focus is to ensure that hundreds of games we offer will include the best quality content that sets us apart. At launch, we plan to include titles such as Death Stranding, God of War, Marvel’s Spider-Man, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Mortal Kombat 11, and Returnal. We’re working closely with our imaginative developers from PlayStation Studios and third-party partners to include some of the best gaming experiences available with a library that will be regularly refreshed. 

When the new PlayStation Plus service launches, PlayStation Now will transition into the new PlayStation Plus offering and will no longer be available as a standalone service. PlayStation Now customers will migrate over to PlayStation Plus Premium with no increase to their current subscription fees at launch.” 

“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 customer’s preferences. 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 deeper their connection with the PlayStation community through shared experiences.” 

PlayStation’s launch effort will begin regionally in June, with the launch happening in “several markets in Asia, followed by North America, Europe, and the rest of the world where PlayStation Plus is offered.” Their goal is to have the service up and running in most PlayStation Network territories by the end of the first half of 2022.

PlayStation noted that this was an early look at the service and they plan on revealing more information as we get closer to the launch date.

Source: PlayStation Blog