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Everything you need to know about the new PlayStation Plus

Jesse Lennox
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After months of rumors, Sony has released a blog post finally confirming what everyone suspected was true: PlayStation Now is going away, and a new tiered structure is coming to PlayStation Plus.

The new strategy breaks up the former subscription plan into three different tiers with their own offerings and pricing that are incorporated into the Plus branding. Starting in June, PlayStation users will have three options for their subscription models to choose from: Essential, Extra, and the top tier called Premium. That structure was teased in various rumors, but Sony has now officially confirmed all those details and more.

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There are still a few points left vague, such as how future titles will be added to each tier. This can be extra confusing to casual players and even more so for those who are already subscribed to one or both existing services. To clear up any confusion, here’s everything you need to know about the new PlayStation Plus Essential, Extra, and Premium tiers.

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What is PlayStation Plus Essential?

The PlayStation Plus logo.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The first tier of the new subscription model is basically just what your normal PlayStation Plus subscription is as it exists today. That includes two monthly games for download, extra discounts in the store, cloud storage, and online multiplayer. This tier will also cost you the same, so if none of this new stuff interests you and you just want to keep being a standard Plus subscriber, you will be rolled into this new tier with no changes whatsoever except for the name. Here’s the pricing structure if you need a refresher.

  • 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

What is PlayStation Plus Extra?

PlayStation Plus Extra is where features pulled from PlayStation Now begin to come into play. With this level, you not only get everything from the PlayStation Plus Essential level but also a catalog of around 400 PS4 and PS5 games available to download. This will include both first-party titles as well as third-party games, likely starting with the catalog that already exists on Now and perhaps the PlayStation Plus Collection. A full list hasn’t been revealed yet, nor if the cadence of games being added monthly will continue, but Sony did say that Death Stranding, God of War, Marvel’s Spider-Man, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Mortal Kombat 11, and Returnal will be there at the start.

PlayStation Plus Extra will cost you, as you could probably guess, a bit extra over the Essential level. Here’s the pricing structure for the different regions:

  • 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

In terms of U.S. prices, that would make this tier cost $40 more than the Essential tier if purchased annually.

What is PlayStation Plus Premium?

For the last (and most expensive) level, we have PlayStation Plus Premium. This one is a bit more complicated than the rest, but in short, it’s an expanded version of having both PlayStation Plus and Now as they exist today. With this level, you get everything from both lower tiers plus around 340 more titles from the PS1, PS2, PS3, and PSP libraries. You also get the ability to stream PS3 games, the option to stream or download PS1, PS2, and PSP games, and an extra option to stream PS4 games in addition to just downloading them. They can all be streamed to your PS4, PS5, or even PC. However, streaming any of these games is only available in regions where PlayStation Now is currently offered.

The next major perk is the availability of “time-limited game trials” that will let you play a portion of a game before purchasing it. What games will offer these trials, as well as how long these trials will last, was not detailed.

The pricing structure for each region looks like this:

  • 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

This tier is just $20 more than the Extra tier annually and would be the same yearly price if you currently subscribed to both PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now. If you already have a PS Now subscription, you will automatically be placed in the Premium tier at no additional cost at launch.

The rollout of this service is going to be done region by region, beginning in June with Asian markets, then North America and Europe, and then the rest of the world with a goal of a full transition by the middle of 2022. Sony’s target dates for launching the service in each region are as follows:

  • Asian markets (excluding Japan): Targeting May 23, 2022
  • Japan: Targeting June 1, 2022
  • Americas: Targeting June 13, 2022
  • Europe: Targeting June 22, 2022

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Jesse Lennox
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