We’ve seen subscription services come into play a lot more these past few years. Microsoft has been pushing its Xbox Game Pass subscription service quite heavily. They not only expanded the service to be more accessible to a wide variety of devices but also filled it with games. One of the significant challenges that Sony will have is the first-party content that Microsoft puts out on Game Pass at launch. However, it appears that Sony is looking to expand their PlayStation Plus subscription service further to gain a larger audience.
Thanks to Reddit, we’re finding out about another leaked Sony slide that has surfaced online. This came from the Insomniac Games hack that recently found data being shared online. Included in this data was some content based on Sony’s future plans. One of which is being reported online is the push to bring their PlayStation Plus subscription to a wider audience. It’s not surprising that PlayStation Plus could land on other platforms.
The move could see PlayStation Plus become more accessible to devices like the Fire Stick, PC, and native smart TV applications. That could open up the ability to enjoy PlayStation content just through the cloud, a feature we see with the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription service tier. The Reddit post also noted that we might see more incentives to get subscribers via partnerships. That could be connections to other entertainment media services or live service games.
Regardless, we’ve also reported that Sony is more concerned with Microsoft now that they have acquired Activision Blizzard. This could further ramp up more content for their Xbox Game Pass service. Additionally, Sony has previously taken the stance that they cannot provide their first-party games on their PlayStation Plus service. This means those big first-party games will land as a premium title to purchase well before they ever land on their subscription service.
Again, that area drastically differs from what Microsoft allows with the Xbox Game Pass service. We know that every first-party studio title under Xbox will land on Game Pass at launch. Furthermore, these are games that won’t get tossed off the service outside of licensing issues. So it will be interesting to see if Sony continues their stance on not allowing first-party games at launch for PlayStation Plus as we progress through this console generation.
