Sony is planning to create an Xbox Game Pass-like subscription service. The company already has two subscription services, the PlayStation Plus, which is required for the majority of online multiplayer games, and the PlayStation Now, which offers a catalog of games to download or stream.
Sony's New Subscription Service
According to Bloomberg, they will reportedly be merged in this new offering. Sony will likely keep the PlayStation Plus brand, reporter Jason Schreier said on Twitter, but phase out PlayStation Now.
The new service, which is codenamed Spartacus, would have three different tiers. One would offer the current PlayStation Plus perks, another would include PS4 catalog and PS5 games, and the third would have extended demos, game streaming, and a list of classic PS1, PS2, PS3, and PSP games.
Bloomberg reports, adding that it's likely to be available on PlayStation 4 as well as the PS5. The company would launch the service in the spring.
Sony didn't immediately reply to a request for comment from The Verge. Bloomberg adds that some details of the service, including its membership tiers, may not yet be finalized. It is unclear if it would run on Microsoft Azure following the deal signed between Microsoft and Sony in 2019.
This new Spartacus service sounds like it would put Sony on par with Microsoft's Game Pass Ultimate subscription, which allows people to play online multiplayer, access a huge library of titles from Microsoft and other companies, and stream games from the cloud, according to Polygon.
However, one of the key perks of Game Pass Ultimate is day-one access to Microsoft's first-party titles, but that might not be available with Spartacus; Schreier said in a tweet that "don't expect Sony to include its big new games day one like Game Pass does."
Sony Subscription Service Is Now Available Through Xbox Game Pass
Crunchyroll was recently acquired by Funimation, which is owned by Sony, and with the announcement of Crunchyroll Premium coming to Xbox Game Pass, we will have a Sony premium subscription service on Microsoft's flagship platform.
Announced by Microsoft earlier today, players who pay for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate will receive 75 days of free access to Crunchyroll Premium. It's not an entire additional subscription, but it's still an interesting dynamic to see another intersection between Sony and Microsoft in this way.
Things are already confusing enough with games like Deathloop and Ghostwire Tokyo released as PS5 exclusives that will eventually come to Xbox, and MLB The Show now and forevermore being a multi-platform release.
What these intersections really show us, though, is how much the game industry has changed and how focused platform holders are on providing the best service for players more than anything else.
Crunchyroll Premium is sure to help bolster Xbox Game Pass sales in some sense and further align Xbox as a platform for anime and other Japanese content - while at the same time putting money in Sony's pockets, as those players who sign up through their Xbox could stick around past the first 75 days.
Aside from the subscription service, Sony is set to release its first-ever drone.
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Sophie Webster
