Poll: Would You Still Pay for PS Plus if Online Multiplayer Was Free Elsewhere?

Yeah, I despise paying for online, and the other 'perks' don't really entice me. I will get flack for this, but nothing would make me happier than PSPlus burning to the ground, along with other online subscriptions (Xbox Live Gold and NSO).

I only get PS Plus to play Red Dead Online which means that Red Dead Redemption 2 cost me about £140. Well worth it.

I subs to psplus not for multiplayer but for cloud saves and psn discount. Heck I don't even care about free games anymore. Although it's nice now usually there's big discount on 1 year psplus on cdkeys, usually at about 50%.

I always going to buy ps5, single player games is the reason I bought playstation.

I’d drop Plus if online was free. Money is not a problem for me.

Online multiplayer is free on other platforms I own such as the PC, PS3 and Wii U. But my household still has an account that pays for PlayStation plus. I don’t see that changing if Xbox online multiplayer becomes free.

I'd just not buy PS Plus and any games that I'd take online I'd buy on the Xbox. Call of Duty, Racing Games, beat m ups I'll just get on the series X and use the PS5 for the single player exclusives.
If Microsoft do offer online free and Sony don't then it's a big reason for me to buy the Series X first and get the PS5 down the line.

Yes, but it would have to be a reduced price and/or include PS Now or more games in general. Basically, it would have to be as good as Xbox Game Pass, which it really isn't at the moment.

I have it strictly for cloud saves. Everything else is a bonus. It’d be great if they combined it with Now though, I’d be all over that!

I would consider jumping ship for the free online. I always though charging for online play was a bad thing. I already pay for my wifi, for the console and the games,so...
I was already thinking about saving the cost of a PS5 by putting it toward a gaming laptor or pc, but might jump on Xbone if they drop the online charge.

I play very little online so it doesn't make much difference to me, I use it for the discounts and always get back more than I paid. However if its free on Xbox that will force Sony's hand

I loved paying aproximatly an extra £250 to pay online this generation

Online should be free anyway.

I play only Fifa and UFC but the Plus itself gives 2 games every month so yeah I will pay.

I dont play online sufficiently to justify the cost. My only reason for paying for plus is to retain access to the games that have been given away over the years.

I currently have PS+ membership for another 29 months. Sony should NOT be charging us to play online anyway! We already pay for our Broadband subscriptions to have them put another £50 on top of that is criminal.

I don't really play online and you lose access to the 'free' games as soon as you don't sub (and if they are on sale at a really cheap price you can't buy them if you have them via Plus) so I'm not bothered about having it in the slightest. Unfortunately my son plays PvZ and a couple of other games online so I only have it for him to be honest.

If they had a sub for Plus AND Now at about £50-60 per year I'd probably consider that a better deal.

@Rob_230 that's my thoughts exactly - and not just for the PS4 games, but also the PS3 and Vita ones. I bought into the Playstation gaming library for their exclusive single-player games and I'm still seeing plenty of that upcoming.

If Sony react in a pro-consumer, positive manner to whatever MS ends up doing, then fantastic (as it's still not been confirmed what Ms are actually doing yet), but I'm not going to whip myself up into a frenzy over this. My older PS machines still work, I have a truckload of games (bought and with Plus) and my intention to buy a PS5 isn't diminished.

PS+ including PSNow for £50-60 a year (as suggested above) would be a good one for me. I'm not expecting the price to stay the same if fundamentally more is added.

I had ps plus before heading it for online play. It had better free games, that's what we need. Better games, not more.

I own almost every make and model of playstation and an enormous library over 4 generations. I'm an unapologetic sony superfan, but if this is true and MS offers free multiplayer and Sony sticks with it's PS+ paywall; I am 100% buying an xbox for my multiplatform / multiplayer games. If it really happens Sony will either cave or lose next gen, I'm crossing every finger and toe that very soon we can forget multiplayer subscriptions ever existed, thank the lord!

I mainly have PS Plus for the online storage and free games. I rarely play games online.

But if Sony would bundle Plus and Now together for a low price, that would be fantastic.

It really wouldnt bother me honestly. I dont play a ton online but the value of Plus for us is in the free games and discounts. As long as that continues and if the add in PS Now I wouldn't be fussed if plus was still needed for multiplayer

@MS7000 No flack from me. I agree. The only one I pay for at the moment is Switch online, because it's so cheap. Otherwise, paying for online multiplayer is such a scam. It should be like PC.

No issues at all. PlayStation is my main console, always has and always will.

Xbox will do anything to get ahead and outsell PlayStation so this doesn’t sway me one bit

Meh it's about £3 a month, not worth worrying about in the grand scheme of things. I'd keep paying as long as it keeps cloud saves and the back catalogue of Plus games.
Obviously, free would be nicer.

Ultimately we'll choose a console based on the games available.

I only have time for one console, and have tonnes of PS4 backlog, so I'll just keep going with Sony.
Xbox would need to play the likes of Horizon, God of War and the Naughty Dog games to even pique my interest. That or get exclusive rights to Rockstar and Capcom games (lol).

@Netbean you'd spend £400+ on a new Xbox to save £30-40 a year on PS Plus? Or is it because do you think your friends would desert Playstation?

I had PS+ since PS3 and it does feel like decreasing value.

Online used to be free but I got it for the great free games and online storage (after my PS3 got YLOD but was resurrected).

It wasn’t a problem for me then when you needed it for online but they’ve now bumped up the price and, in my opinion, the freebies are a bit of a mixed bag.

Especially strange when you can play Fortnite without PS+

@BNAG_Gamer but your broadband fee doesn't run Sony's servers does it? 'Criminal' is a bit overkill.

I'd prefer the cost of the servers was recovered through game sales, but clearly this is the arrangement the market can bear at the moment.

@EVIL-C i was honestly expecting more people to disagree with me and say that paying for online is a good thing, or that PS+ is a good deal without the online. The value is subjective of course, but it has never been worth much for me. NSO is cheap, but I have not noticed any real improvement in the quality of online gameplay. I can't vouch for PS+ because I have never owned it, nor do I have experience with online on PS3 to compare it to, so perhaps there is some quality improvement there, I am unsure.

I do t mind paying for plus but I’d rather pay to have online multiplayer and PS Now. Scrap the monthly games and the nonsense that comes with it. Everyone can find something to play on PSNow and it’s gets more users onto the service

I only pay for the cloud saves on PS4 and PS3. The online gaming on PS4 I've done has been very few and far between. Though with more and more games going cross play, the few friends I do have on PS could end up just getting cross played with.

And my main gaming group are all on xbox and PC, and with those being free and cross play in the future, it would definitely be hard to pursuade anyone to want to play PS online.

I voted that I would pay, just for the cloud saves, but realistically, I could see Nintendo being the online service I pay for and that's only because I can have 8 of us on one £35 a year service.

Let’s face it PlayStation is the only console that has the games to not bother about a ps plus membership.. when you look at Ghost Of Tsushima that’s gonna keep me busy for a while and it was the same with the Uncharted series, The last of us 1&2, days gone, the order, gran turismo.. all these games can keep someone happy without wondering about online. I haven’t played online in months even though I have a years sub.

I don't really play online. The limit of my online play is FFXIV and some ESO and I can't remember if they require PS+ anyway. The main draw of the service for me is the monthly games, and I wish they'd go back to offering more than just 2.

@BarryBurton97 With cross play it doesn't matter! price is not the issue it's the principle. Why pay a tax when PC players don't? I personally was looking into a gaming PC for MP next gen, but xbox becomes a no brainer if they drop gold requirement. I support pro consumer decisions

I would like to see the option to defer months if I'm not interested in the plus games and I'm not going to play online. I sometimes go months without playing a game online and I still resent having to pay to play a game or so a year online.

The value of the games we do get definitely covers the cost, but no one has the time to realistically play them all. I think a game pass library system is needed really, then you can sign up when you've got nothing to play. Sony using the FOMO system where you only get games whilst signed up is looking a bit dated and unhelpful going forward.

I actually don’t think Microsoft are removing the paywall at all; it’s simply worth far too much money for them and they are not going to completely eliminate a multi-billion dollar revenue stream - particularly if the Series X itself is sold at a hefty loss. Instead it’s likely Gold will be fully integrated with Games Pass, which is even more expensive and perhaps not the awesome deal it’s made out to be.

As far as paying for PS Plus, I currently have it but it’s not something I necessarily feel beholden to. If I want it in the future then £40 isn’t really going to break the bank. Compared to the horrific online on the PS3 and Vita it is arguably worth it. Xbox Live on the 360 was the Gold standard at the time, and few people complained about paying for it simply because of how much better it was than PSN. The payment premium has perhaps forced Sony to invest in something people find value in paying for.

I mean how the f*ck Microsoft would remove Paid online it is a great revenue stream and how would Gamepass would cover the cost of :
1. Server Maintenance
2. Third-party Cut
3. First-party Cut
4. Free Multiplayer
5. Other Factors (i.e Advertising etc. )

I mean I know they are being pro-consumer but there is a line that is drawn. People forget that Xbox is independent entity to Microsoft ( which means they cannot just get MS billions). They cannot possibly afford all of this with just Gamepass sales even with the best Accountant running their books it would be near impossible to turn a profit

I've had both xboxes and playstations in previous generations and I still haven't made up my mind which way to go next gen yet.
Not having to pay a subscription to play online would be a really big factor in my decision.

I am very firmly bundle it in with now camp!! Sorry to the folks that live where now isn't available. Think its an easy way for sony to counter game pass

I actually let my ps plus sub run out a few months ago. I never play online & the fact that Sony offered less games & then increased the price, made it easier for me not to resub. If I had a choice, I would love it if Sony would offer the storage at a fixed price, without play online & games.

I don't subscribe really for the online multiplayer myself, but more for the monthly games and PS+ discounts, which especially in the sales can be quite good.
So for me the best thing would be to bundle it with PSNow, to increase my backlog even further.

Of course i would, i had PS Plus long before online was included.
PS Plus has never had a real term price increase (annually) so for me online was still effectively free.
As long as they add a PS5 game i'm not bothered at all.

I have not payed for it for over a year and since I only use the playstation for there single player game and to stream from my pc then I doubt I would ever get it again since the games they give are really bad or just really old

I use plus for the PS Store discounts and a few of the "free" games each month if they're good.
I don't really play online for the most part.
Even if Micro made it free it won't impact me as much.

I've had Ps Plus since it launched way back when. The "free" games alone have made it more than worth it for me, especially with the PS Vita. Literally every game released for Vita i eventually got, & the end of the PS3 era gave us some massive hits by the service. I don't really see it as paying to play online games, because tbh i rarely do. The amount of games I've gotten make it worth the value. Playing Rise Of The Tomb Raider rn and LOVING it, would prob never buy that even on sale but now that i'm playing it i can't believe i waited this long. So for me as long as they give us dope games and good sales, PS Plus isn't a issue for me.

I buy Playstation for singleplayer games so it wouldn't really bother me.

Do free to play multiplayer games like fortnite and apex legends require ps plus?

I already don’t use online but pay for it grudgingly for cloud saves (same reason I pay for Nintendo Online.)

This despite XBox having free cloud saves. I was planning to cancel PSPlus this year, since I’m playing in the console less and less, but I forgot and for an auto-renewal email post-renewal so now I’m stuck for another year.

Is it actually going free or being combined with Gamepass? Slight of hand, smoke and mirrors. Always managed to pick it up cheap on CDKeys.

@playstation_king googled it up and it seems that Fortnite at the very least can be played without PS Plus. I know Nintendo lets all F2P online only games also to work online without Nintendo Online.

Microsoft at the moment requires paid online to Olay Fortnite.

I think Final Fantasy XIV can also be played without PS Plus, logic being that game has its own paywall to play online, I think.

@Crowley22g no one knows for sure yet but strongest rumor (likely due to it being the most desired) is MP will just go free and the free monthly game program be rolled into Game Pass.

I payed for PSPlus on the PS3 so what's the difference other than probably PSNow being a thing now? It would make more sense to just pay for that and scrap PSPlus as most the games that come on Plus are usually already on Now or have been on there.

If Microsoft go that route it's clear they know thats the only way they are getting some customers back, as there "Most Powerful" motive isn't working.

@Tharsman hmm interesting, I think all multiplayer games should be free to play especially games like overwatch and call of duty where you are alrwady paying £40 for the game and then £7 a month online which totals £124 for that year just to get and play overwatch.

I think ps plus should just be for free games and ps now included and for multiplayer to be free.

I've been a Plus subscriber since the launch of PS4. But I don't buy it for online, as I rarely play online. I don't take all of the games they offer over a year, but I take enough of them to get more than my money's worth out of it.

I've said for a long time that they should offer alternative options for months when people don't want any/all of the games, such as offering a couple of movie rentals from all of those available. Even if it were a mix-n-match format, where you could take both games, or two movie rentals, or one game and one movie rental, etc.

If you subscribe annually and pick up a membership during the Amazon Black Friday deals, it's even better value - usually about £35.

The primary draw for me is the auto-backup to the cloud. I had a drive failure and lost saves before subscribing. I don't do multiplayer and the free games are either games I'm not interested in or already own. Having two consoles makes it easier to transfer saves than using USB but the primary draw is the off-site backup. PS Now would be a great benefit but it's not a dealbreaker and only if it didn't cost anything more.

Multiplayer doesn't both me too much so I'm just paying for the monthly games anyway. If they removed that element and bundled in is Now. Then that would be perfect for me.

i cant believe people actually think MS will make multiplayer free. LMAO

I don't bother with PS+, I like the idea of PSNow bundle though!

@Tharsman mate extended his Gamepass and got ultimate for a £1 extra so he's now covered until 2022 😎 Like I said, no reason Sony can't rebrand and improve.

If MS announce free online MP it will be very interesting to see how, or even if, Sony respond.

I feel like they’d have to do something, especially if the XSX console is cheaper too...

I dont ever use the multiplayer aspect of any game, I much prefer playing single story campaigns to which I can take my time doing so, HOWEVER my son is the total opposite no matter the amount of gentle persuasion, he only ever plays multiplayer games, mainly COD and fortnite so unless I'm tight an make him pay for it being that's he is 14, I will continue to pay for it just for him. The games they give out free I tend to already own and if i dont it's not a game I'm generally interested in.i would love for them to bundle in ps now, I would happily pay for plus if now was included even if they added a £1 or 2.

The closest thing that Microsoft will do to online free is say its free if you subscribe to Xbox Ultimate for $180 a year! LOL If you don't its still $69 a year for Online.

I left free online PC for PS4 in 2013 I still Installed a 1070Ti graphics card in my PC at $449. For the single player games and Physical disc. Games in 4K HDR even in checkerboard look amazing. Its crazy to think you get all that on PlayStation Pro for $399!

I love the cloud saves, and they certianly help when going for some trophies. I think I would be a PS+ member regardless. I voted for more heavily discounted games in the store for PS+ members.

@roe May i ask why they introduced payed online? The same was with crossplay which they didnt want and act like the good guys. 😆

How is the "Yes, not a problem for me" response that high? Y'all really like paying for the ability to play over the internet that you already pay for? Like what is that about?

Even in some alternate reality where I'm filthy rich I don't like the idea of paying both Spectrum and Sony to play games online.

Honestly I HATE Xbox Live for introducing "pay for online", that The entire industry followed through with..I was perfectly fine with the free online included with ps3.

I only pay for the free monthly games. I don't play games online. So Xbox Live going free wouldn't affect me one way or the other.

@JohnKarnes How much is the gamepass? I never owned a Xbox never will too. My second console might be a Switch for the other games i want. But i never felt i needed a Xbox for anything. The only thing i hear about the gamepass that its good value im not buying a console for good value.

I'll still get a PS5 before I get a series x if I ever even bother getting a series x at all. It would be an aggressive move by M$ to offer free online however.

I plan on waiting for the PS5 slim before I jump into the next generation.

this site loves going of what MS does. they will charge they always have it will just be tied up into something else maybe force people to have game pass to get online as well.
it was Sony who went through the whole PS3 gen without charging for online so I have no issue paying them something.

LMAO... NO.

If MS do that AND SONY DOESN'T, i will just go and get a XSX, it will virtually have everything i want at that point:
>60fps target for their games
>Disc based games
>The best version of 3º party games
>NO ONLINE PAYWALL

If they manage to let me detach DLC/Updates from games Backups and native XB1 compatibility, it will just be the perfect console.

Anyways, i'm not convinced those rumors are correct, MS is probably just merging all subscription into GamePass. Like Ultimate. I don't believe they will drop the paywall.

That garbage paywall should never have existed in the first place.

If Microsoft do this Sony have to follow suit.
It makes a lot of sense as well, why do we have to pay to play online when you don't on PC? And why for so much when some of us don't care about the free games or deals?

I used to pay for xbox live on 360 when psn was free on ps3 so no it wouldn't stop me getting a ps5

@AyanamiReign
>If Microsoft do this Sony have to follow suit.
Let's hope. That paywall should disappear from all platforms
Also, It will be nice to have a pro-consumer initiative by Sony, because everything that is good for the consumer on next-gen comes from MS and Sony just follows because they have to.

If give out better free games was an option that would be my pick for how to improve

yes, but grudgingly, only because PS is currently the only option for me. there's nothing sony can do to make PS+ better value to me, i am not really interested in any of the options like adding PSNow, films/music downloads, bigger discounts - i still prefer to buy games on disc. if multiplayer went free on PS5, i'd stop subscribing, but even though i don't play a massive amount of multiplayer any more, as long as i can continue to get it for less than £2.50 month, and i get a stable ad-free experience, i'll not cry about it.

there is literally nothing that would entice me to buy an xbox.. even if sony shut down and sold all its studios and IPs to them.

Given how PS has a much worse online than the competition, charging for it would look pretty bad.

I don't care for multiplayer, it's useless for me. But for example I bought a few days ago complete edition of WH40K Inquisitor, where discount was bigger than whole one year subscription. This happens maybe 2-3 times a year. Ergo, free games are for me really free and even other exclusive discounted games are cheaper.

@Boucho11 Disagree. I LOATHE PS Now. Rather have more free games given away every month. I like stuff I can actually download. On top of that, I'd prefer more discounts. I've never liked the idea of paying for online multiplayer tbh though.

I just can't leave PS. I had the first one when I was young and bought every single one since. Games like god of war and last of us keep me true

I don't pay for online on any platform.

I have a PC. It has FREE online already - Still have PS+

Microsoft should keep charging and use the money to make better games 🙄

Still going for the tier system...
Bronze - Online access (free)
Silver - Cloud saves + Online (cheap)
Gold - Free games + cloud + online (more expensive)
Platinum - All of the above + psnow (premium)

I also think they should throw in a film or something each month now that they have sacked off 2/3rds of the games, as sony pictures has a large catalogue that they could pine off.

Online SHOULD ALWAYS be FREE. It's why a lot of people seem not to care about Online play.

@nookie_egg 's idea's good. EVERYONE should have FREE ONLINE PLAY but without free game benefits on the Bronze Tier. Because honestly I don't really care about their so-called "free" but really leasing games that get locked out when PS Plus expires.

It feels very much like the republicans and the democrats; they want us to buy both systems. Free online (like it should be) would be awesome. But missing out on god of war uncharted etc., would SUCK. Option 1, pay 59 a year. Option 2, forget the exclusives get an Xbox(for the free online). Option 3 get both. At one point I had all three. It was great for the exclusives, but I can’t go back to that again. If I can only have one system(only want one); I gotta go option 1. P.S- our choice out of 2 out of 3 games per month would be kinda awesome!!

It's a huge revenue stream for Sony. I highly doubt they'll ditch it right now. It was nice to game for free before they decided to follow Microsoft's lead when started charging gamers to play online. But, it's relatively cheap and I have a huge library of great games that I still have to get around to playing. As long as they use that revenue to improve their services, I'm fine with paying it. I'm sure Microsoft already has planned something to sell its users in place of Games with Gold.

Also, there are a lot of games on PlayStation where you don't need PS+ to play online.

I think the games make it worth it, but at the same time the fact online is hidden behind the paywall is irritating when PC has never done this. I think they should be separated, I would still get PsPlus for the games.

@Mince It's not free, stop calling them that. You pre-pay for games you might not even want.

Back in PS3 days PSPlus was worth it because of the free games. When Plus turned mandatory for online play they started to give ***** games. So if the Plus stops being mandatory for online gaming, I would stop my subscription, but I would subscrive again if they start giving good games again.

I'm of the opinion that we really don't have anything to worry about because PS5 has no relevant competition Phil Spencer has but given up trying to make xbox competitive & besides online gaming really isn't a big enough thing for me to worry about I maybe play 2 online games & that's it but they could improve plus with additional content each month by adding a free movie or by bundling ps plus with now but that's probably going to increase the annual fee & honestly xbox should probably be more concerned trying to compete with Nintendo since xbox is in 3rd place for so long at least Nintendo is trying xbox this whole generation didn't have a single appealing game & from what Phil is saying he wants that to end so any chance xbox had of being interesting is about to go flying out the window into irrelevance.

@johncalmc the cloud saves should be free (they are with Xbox and always have been) and the discounts and free games I get and I think that's where MS is trying to refocus live GOLD.

It will be positioned as a value add vs a requirement and the mp part will just move down to the free tier (aka silver) just like Netflix streaming eventually did as well.

The quality of "free" games they give with PS+ is *****. Ive ALWAYS been a Sony guy but would get an Xbox over a PS5 if online was free. The only way I stick with Sony is if they increase the quality of monthly games. Don't give me Farm Sim and other crap.

I played maybe 10 games on ps4 this gen worth it and I would say the same or close to it on Xbox.

The Xbox ones may not have all been massive blockbuster story driven stuff like God of War or horizon zero dawn but all in all I would say I had more fun and definitely played many of the Xbox exclusives for longer than 1 and done story games on my Playstation. I got to spend real quality time gaming with friends some games we put 100s of hours into and then there were some pretty solid story based games like gears of War 5 that even there I got to play the whole game through with my best friend right there beside me.

Do you know how many Playstation story driven games I got to play with my best friend? 0 the best we could do was talk to each other the next day about what we did the night before.

Both platforms and games have their benefits but overall I would say the Xbox games gave me just as much enjoyment (more in some ways) and definitely had a much better "value" proposition. Some of the games we got to play for just a buck and then spent a month having a blast playing together.

Never got anything like that out of Playstation for sure.

Having free multiplayer is a point in a console's favour, but not enough on it's own to switch from one to another (scuse the pun).
Bundling PS+ with PSNow is a decent idea, but only if said service is available in all regions, which at the moment is not the case.

Not an issue..i will still purchase a 12 monthly sub as the money helps to keep the ps online stable and getting the freebies each month is a plus too although some of the games (goat sim ffs) have been a bit of a joke but overall i have been happy with ps+ and if it turning free means a return to the ps3 flakey service then that would be awful...support the service..

@tomassi I just subscribed to XBox gold today and the first thing I decided to do is test this. Yes, you can buy games that you claimed via “free” offer. You go to the game store page and there is a “Buy To Own” button.

@playstation_king none of those games need PS Plus for online

@nfe901
"I like stuff I can actually download"
Um... You CAN actually download games via PS Now bud. You don't have to stream them anymore.

https://youtu.be/Z_iSYPCbtGw

I have a PS4 Pro but I’m also fortunate enough to have a good gaming PC as well. As such I just buy the single-player exclusives I want physically and get all my multiplayer games for PC. Unfortunately there is very little Sony can do to make me ever pay for PS+, but who knows, maybe they’ll surprise me.

I would still pay just for the cloud storage and free games IF they make it INCREDIBLY CHEAP.

I buy PlayStation for its great single-player exclusives, so even if online multiplayer are free elsewhere, it doesn't affect me much.

With that said, i can kinda see why xbox might profit by making it free: They already lost the single-player exclusives battle, why not try winning the online multiplatforms?

I can already see it:
"PlayStation the only place to play great exclusives"
"Xbox the best place to play multiplatforms"

Well, ps plus free games are the main main reason why I'm actually buying plus subscription to be honest..
The 2nd reason is online multi player and discounts and else..
So as long as they continue to give free games every month, i may pay for ps plus
(it's also depends on good games and price of ps plus)

@R1spam no cap* not now camp:)))

The xbox subscription isn't actually free. From the sounds of it they tieing it all in together, so if u don't use the streaming service or anything else u won't get actual value for money. Like wise if they bundle ps+ with psnow or anything else. Subscription for ps+ should be £40 per year. No more, no less.

They're not even free games, the second your ps plus expires you can't play them it's kinda BS

The issue is that buying an Xbox wouldn't serve any real purpose for me even if it had free multiplayer. No one I game with will likely ever buy an Xbox and the games I want to play aren't going to be on Xbox. I love a lot of Sony exclusives, like Spiderman, Rachet and Clank, Horizon, etc. I may not buy a PS5 at launch and I'm not precluding the possibility of ever buying an Xbox, but it wouldn't fill the void of a PS5 if I did.

I actually don't subscribe to PS plus right now anyway. Any multiplayer gaming I've done lately is on PC or Switch. PC is free, obviously, and Switch nearly is at $4.50 a year on the 8-person family plan I'm on with some friends and family. I just wasn't playing my PS4 online enough (mostly play it for single player stuff, like just played through RE7 for the first time) to justify re-up last year and haven't bothered this year either.

I've never really understood the reason for why console manufacturers charge for online access. I stand to be corrected, but as far as I know, they don't host the server. The publishers and developers of the respective games host the servers, so it technically doesn't cost the console manufacturers any money to allow online multiplayer. To me, having to pay a subscription to game online is the result of a bygone era when SP games were still big, and not every game had an online element. Nowadays, practically every game has some online element. I could be wrong in my reasoning of course.

I get free online on PC but I don't mind paying for PS plus. I also pay for Nintendo online. Not many things are like steam, where they make enough money to support all of the online servers through game sales. I'd rather pay for functioning online than go back to ps3 servers that were always shut down. Free doesn't matter when it barely works

@Amppari its strange isn't it. I have no idea where this rumour came from. Its utter nonsense to think MS would drop the online subscription model for the sake of a few extra million console sales.

Well, let's not forget that in the PS3 days, online was free and PS Plus was only really about the monthly games and discounts. I still subscribed.

I do seem to recall a consistently higher level of included games (and more of them?) back then though. These days, I think bundling it with PS Now would be excellent.

Microsoft's Game Pass has always been a better offering than PS Plus, especially considering they offer games on there as soon as they release.

Sony certainly need to go in the same direction, and if nothing else they need to bundle PS Now with it. It used to be free on the PS3 so I don't see why it can't be again.

@Tharsman I honestly can't believe in 2020 that Sony still have a problem with something as simple as that. It's just another reason why I'd rather just buy the game cheap if I see it. For instance, in todays Summer sale For Honor is £4.99. I downloaded it via PS Now so it says 'purchased' meaning I can't buy it (not that I want to particularly). The trouble is, I'm actually better buying it for £4.99 than paying for PS Now every year for £40 just to have continued access to the game. Same applies to PS Plus games.

There needs to be more value in PS Plus to keep it relevant, especially in situations with multiple gamers and consoles in the same household. I have a PS3, a PS4, and a PS4 Pro. Nothing bothers me more than having my PS Plus account signed out mid-game because my daughter or wife wanted to play a game together or with friends and my account is the only one with PS Plus access. Make it easier to share access in a household without needing to buy multiple accounts.

@tomassi they do that for PSNow games too? Weird. I think GamePass games don’t just let you buy the games, but they offer you a discount at buying them, at least ir seems to be a thing when the game is about to leave the service, based on what I hear, not personal experience.

PureBox seems to have regular articles reminding users about the games leaving the service and how long they have to buy them at a discount, anyways.

lol at all these posters shouting about how they'll let their PS+ lapse 'next time'. We all know you won't.

@Flaming_Kaiser Game Pass is $10 a month $120 per year. Online is not included. Thats Xbox Live $5 per month. Then there is Ultimate that combines them $15 per month. I owned a 360 for about a year then sold it. Never bought a Xbox One.

The only thing I had interest in on Xbox One was Sunset Overdrive and Cuphead the entire generation. That was far to little to purchase a Xbox One. Microsoft continued to promise big games are coming but never delivered. I think they were to focused on BC.

@Mince Factually wrong, demanding, mocking the poor.
A real gem of a person here.

Been paying for psplus for years , i have steam aswell online multiplayer has been free on steam since the start, i see psplus as a price of a game per a year but it gets me free games and deals each year. Offline campaign gamer here im oldskool been playing since my atari 2600 / c64 days. I think if PlayStation gets a new president we will see backwards compatibility like xbox
Pity he dont like old games lol.
psnow/psplus nice thought hopefully sony will sort that out be nice to play a ps3/2 or even a ps1 game on the ps4. Il never part with my ps2 compatible ps3 lol

It's Amazing that the people that complain about paid online are the one that use it the most. They tend to buy very few games per year. They only want Online and do not care about Plus games. Sports or PVP Shooters along with 10+ hours a day online.

For me I would say they should still have PS Plus, but only if you want the free games. I think multiplayer should be free, and then just have ps plus for free games and other features, but make multiplayer free

I wouldnt mind paying a small fee for playing online if it means it keeps the servers up. But Sony has allready shut down multiple servers within a few years so they lost my good will as far as that concerns. Imo there should be 2 subscriptions: a very cheap one for online play and cloud saves (AND they actually keep the servers up), and one for discounts and ps now and they can then drop the free monthly games as that is allready part of ps now.

I hate PS Plus and how we pay for multiplayer although I also use Steam alot more as that's free MP. I only use PS Plus as my friends don't use PC. Especially when Sony cuts servers before the current generation is over, what's that about? Isn't that a service we pay for? I'm surprised the GT Sport servers are still running to be honest. I won't be returning with PS5.

I think at this stage it is fair to ask for a VR game per month to be included, as some one who buys games on release the PS+ games are generally not what I am after or have already got but I do add them to my library every month! I think the best offer would be 1 x AA/AAA title, 1 x indie and a VR game

Are these the same "intensifying rumours" whenever someone claims the next free PS Plus games have been leaked and they definitely know what they are, cos their "sources" tell them, only for them to be totally wrong when the games are announced? 😏

@MaseSco Well I sure will be - I've played multiplayer on PS4 about 1% of my entire time on it over the years. Single player is where it's at.

@zupertramp People defended Nintendo Online lacking essential features, people defend microtransactions, and recently, the users of this site defended paying more money for the base versions of video games.

Some people are just so brand loyal that they don't dare criticise the thing they love.

I have hate the idea of paying for multiplayer since Microsoft came out with Live. In fact, the only reason I ever subscribed to PS+ in the past was for the monthly games - but I long stopped my subscription.

One thing Sony absolutely needs to do is make Cloud Saves free. I lost all game progress to all of my games (and I was like 90% done with The Last of Us Part II) because I stupidly did a System Initialization to try to solve a problem with Uncharted 4 1.33 patch from erroring - spoiler alert: it didn't fix the problem and I think the problem is that Sony's 1.33 patch for Uncharted 4 is corrupt on their servers - it didn't download on either my external HDD OR my internal HDD and I highly doubt they are both messed up when it's the ONLY GAME that doesn't patch.

I know it's my own fault for not being more careful before doing the System Initialization, but I am so used to Cloud Saves just being available on PC, my phone, and Xbox, that I didn't give it a second thought. Putting Cloud Saves behind a paywall in a day and age when Cloud Storage is free to access in so many places is just stupid (you too Nintendo).

Why should anyone pay to play online multiplayers ? I mean, you are buying games, and then you have to pay extra money to play the game in multiplayer mode!!! that's not fair man! Sony playstation is really overwhelming, but in this case we recommend peoples to get pc. If this case is fixed than ps5 will provide a better option than a 4k gaming pc for consumers, in my opinion

PS Plus is well worth paying for if you are a dedicated gamer. Pays for itself if you by it at around £30 to £35 in the sales and you're making it worth it through game discounts, monthly games and online play

@EVIL-C yep, like pc, riddled with hackers.

I been a PlayStation fan for to long to switch PlayStation always had a better built console especially on launch XBox always screws up on launch not only that but if I want to play any Xbox games I could just play it on steam so no need for that console PlayStation is king of console hands down

People forget that PS3 had free online multiplayer, people still bought an Xbox 360 which you had to pay to get online. So no, it doesn't matter I'd still pay for plus regardless

I don't care much about online multiplayer, I pay mainly for the monthly free games!

Ms dropped pay wall is probably for free to play games and netflix They should done this from day one

That may very well be the dumbest question ever. I'm not going elsewhere over a few dollars a month. PS+ plus is a good value as it stands. You play online and get some decent games throughout the year. How cheap does someone have to be to actually expect more?

@Dexeronstarsurge

Like PC, as in FREE. Obviously that's what I meant. Context is everything, or else you're just an intellectually dishonest hack.

I wasn't ever interested in Xbox games since so many were online and required Gold so I'm PlayStation and Nintendo. Now with both of those requiring paid online I simply don't do online. I buy few things from their stores - primarily add ons - and always prefer a physical media to download.

My PS+ expired in Jan this year, and I'd been dissatisfied with the 'free' games for a while so decided not to renew it. I don't really play online anyway much. I decided to try a year of PS Now instead, and to be honest I'm finding it much better value. PS Now might not match (or even come close) to Gamepass in terms of new releases etc, but it does have one bonus over the MS equivalent. You don't need PS+ to play PS Now games online. And Rocket League is on there, which is the only game I play online (plus it's going F2P anyway, so that's irrelevant I guess).

tl;dr - PS Now is much better value than PS+ at the moment.

I'd still subscribe. I like having 2 "free" games to play each month, because it really opens up my library.

So Xbox is gonna con Sony into charging for online multiplayer and then get rid of it, thats trash. Ive owned both systems throughout the years, but this is the sorriest move ive ever seen by either company. Aside from an egregious disrespect from Sony to its fans, im done with trashbox permanently.

Honestly, if it wasn't for online games, I probably wouldn't have PS Plus. The digital sales can be pretty good, but that's the point of endless sales, to push digital, and I want physical. The free games are nice, but they're either games I already have or games I don't want or end up not liking. Very rare for me to get a game for free that I enjoyed. So yes, if another platform had online for free, I would go with them.

I kind of miss xbox. This could be a reason to gen-switch. Having said that, I'd rather pay online and just use PS4 and skip next gen unless some game comes out that blows my mind...like Soul Calibur VII...

One thing that's not on here as well, we should be able to keep whatever free games we get with plus. Not just have access as long as we have plus.

I would be curious to see how different groups of people are voting, specifically those fortunate enough to be able to buy a lot of games each year. And the reason I say that is while I could see free multiplayer on XBSX being enticing for more casual gamers that don't buy a lot of games and/or mostly play stuff like Fornite or CoD:Warzone, I'm not sure anything either company announces is going to motivate people who've already made a substantial commitment to their preferred brand's "ecosystem" to switch.

Even if I know that I will not play all of my games on next-gen, I still own enough that it makes switching brands/consoles a non-starter, regardless of what Microsoft does.

Nope I'm happy with ps5 with or without plus xbox can go burn in hell

@roe xbox was never free online dumb dumb

@PcTV mince is correct though so stfu

@Cdub5298 traitor

@Jayofmaya actually you're wrong there are some games that you gave to pay for online to play them like world of warcraft star wars ultimate online etc etc

PlayStation plus has nothing to do with why I would get a PS5. PlayStation has better exclusive games in general and that is the only reason why I'll get a PS5 over the Xbox.
Also Xbox hasn't really been targeting gamers with their interface on their consoles, it's more catered to people who want to use the console as a movie watching device. For me when it comes to consoles, games come first everything else is just a plus. Also if there's a game I can't get on PlayStation most of the time I can get it on steam.

I don’t see why they make us buy a $60 and on ps5 the price is going to go up and then make us pay more to play the game anyway so I think they should just get rid of it

@roe xbox live was never free plus on xbox 360 you needed gold just to watch apps and browser while its different now PlayStation offering free to play games don't need ps plus always and could play offline

They should focus on fixing their store so it doesn’t freeze and crash your system and they should fix the system so it doesn’t lag out in the home screen and don’t get me started on the lack of backwards compatibility. Ps Now was suppose to have PS1 games and PS2 but unfortunately we only got a handful of PS2 and none for PS1 and it’s lagging when you stream and I have fiber internet when I have 900 down and like 200-300 upload and it’s lagging there’s a issue and now it’s worse since they throttled down the internet for the system due to the pandemic. They turn around and say oh you will have your BC on the cloud yup there’s gonna be more money to spend on games you already own

Oh and we are paying for their servers to play online but the PS Network keeps crashing and every year their network gets hacked so why are we paying for this?

@Ogzoomdoom420 He isn't. And no, I don't think I will.

Fyi
Free online multi-player is already, " available elsewhere " and has been for many MANY YEARS.
Its called P.C gaming.
Yet that has never stopped me from paying for my PS+ since day ONE of its inception

You need to quit fkg charging people for a fun at home especially the kids who can't afford their stuff, yes adults can afford something so let few dollars play around, but stop charging to play online, it is just resiculous not many can afford to pay Soo much, charge online for nice and pretty things not the kids, they are innocent and let them have the best time of their life before work, school and drugs with families ruin it all.

I Don't Even Play Online Anymore Because There's An Unnecessary Paywall Gatekeeping Me From Fully Enjoying The Game I Already Paid Full Price For With An Internet Service I Already Pay For. The Real True Value Of The PS5 Is 4 Previous Generations Of Backwards Compatibility With The Games We Already Loyally Still Own Or Need To Buy If We Don't. It Will Be The Ultimate Console For Sure.

The online multiplayer is exceedingly expensive just to be allowed to play using your own internet that you also have to pay and add the different games you need to buy and then season passes and DLC, just stop make it free or don’t add it at all

Its not about the money its about the content you get from it. Even if xbox are considering going free for online the selection of exclusives they have is dreadful compared to what playstation has. And the games on ps plus are often worth playing. But the xbox game pass never seems to bring anything to the table. I have a ps and my friend has an xbox the companion of games is embarrassing. Xbox get some random xbox 360 remaster playstation get 2 trilogies 2 months in a row. You cant really compare. But if xbox go free for online playstation will have to change something to keep people interested even uf it is just lower the price and add music and films or add a 3rd game (probably and indie game). I wouldnt move to xbox because of free online play the reason i would move is because they incread the quality and quantity of exclusives majorly

As a 15 year old who pays for ps plus out of his own pocket i have no problem. I usually get my money back most months. Even with the infamous may ps plus duo i still got my money back from it. Last year with detroit i goty money back on a single game. I have no trouble continuing paying

@InsertGoodName well whether it's true or not it's still an interesting debate to have.

Honestly this is irritating, Microsoft has been subscription based since the beginning (xbox, Xbox 360, and Xbox one). Everyone seems to forget Sony's multiplayer was completely free on ps2 and ps3 and no one had a problem paying for Xbox live back then. Ps4 is the only console from Sony that required a subscription. Now there's talk about xbox getting rid of the subscription and all of a sudden people have a problem with Sony possibly keeping theirs. I dont think anything is going to change.

Since most games require an online connection, I'd still pay for Plus.

@Richnj yeah, nintendo online. smh. good example of something that's just still not gonna happen on my end without some serious tweeks.

unfortunately they've made ps plus a near necessity. oh well.

@Mtlighting8 The cost of online gaming on Xbox vs PS surely factored in to some folks' decision to go PS. It did for me. Sony over here with a proven track record and Microsoft who can't even make a decent web browser (or even OS anymore) but yet trying to charge to play online. I was like no thanks.

So when Sony started charging it certainly irked me a bit. Wasn't much I could do though. I pay grudgingly and only when there's a sale.

@PS5in2020 Didn't show up as being on my system when I did it back then, but that was also about two years ago. I had gotten Dark Souls II and it showed up more so as being a app that linked to the game as opposed to the game itself. I now own the game, but have yet to beat it. Either way, PS Now just isn't my preference. I like buying my games in physical form tbh, but I understand some things can only be bought in the PS Store, so I just settle for that.