PS Plus Looks Better Than Ever After New Xbox Game Pass Price Rises

Seems plenty of folk are intending to run down their subs and moving on by the looks of things on the internet. Honestly I called this the day they intended to buy Activision

Oh yeah, look at how sustainable and profitable it is like everyone wanted to make us believe. /s

Game Pass is dead. PS Plus Premium is absolutely insanely woeful so I’m not sure you can claim superiority there but PS Plus Extra is decent.

Glad I've hardly had to pay anything for mine and got 2 years of ultimate free left thanks to reward points. Though they made a massive change where u can't use reward points directly for gamepass sub. Now have to get credit using the reward points and then use that to pay the sub. Will see what the service is like when my free sub ends if I start paying or not. By that time every MS game will probably be coming day 1 to PlayStation anyway.

Too much money for only renting games.

Had fun with GamePass previous years — played some games via it on both console and PC. But $360 per year? Nah, I'd better buy all the things I want either on release or during those sales a couple of months after.

Now I finally understand why they chose to call it an xbox 360

Wait till next year when it will cost xbox 1k

I get premium for about £100 a year I think, maybe a bit less. And I do so mainly because it’s like £20 more than the Extra tier and lets me stream to my Portal. If it went up to this I’d probably stop subscribing altogether.

I expected they would have raised the price higher by now. I wouldn't be surprised that the price will be 60 a month in a couple of years.

Ironically the ppl who said Game Pass was killing developers because they made no money off their games should actually be thrilled about this news. If you thought playing a $60-70 Xbox first-party game for $15 was unsustainable, no worries, you can now pay $30 for the exact same thing and save less money than ever before!

I stick with the lowest PS Plus and just…buy my games.

I have a Series X and got a few Gamepass Ultimate 3 month prepaid cards on deep discount last year, still have one in reserve. Holding that for Forza Horizon 6 when that releases, and then will buy it on PS5 down the road.

What a set of greedy pigs.

I have it stacked for quite a while from good deals so don’t have to think about it for now. Committing to 75+ day one titles is pretty insane, of course a lot will probably be indies (not necessarily a bad thing).

For now I’ll enjoy all the new benefits for the less than $10 a month (some more like $7) I paid to stack years of GamePass Ultimate to begin with!

It is a disgusting price rise. And I’m seriously considering selling my series S (only use it for GP)

But let’s also be real. Sony will follow suit and raise prices. - hopefully by not as much.

@dschons Prices are only indirectly linked to costs and profits. Prices for this kind of products are determined by the willingness to pay. Maybe GP is very profitable now and will become even more profitable!

PS Plus has long be more valuable than GamePass, it just wasn't "popular" to say so.

They've raised the prices because their "profitable" service can't sustain the blow of another 'Day 1' Call of Duty launch, one that will no doubt be the lowest selling in years.

PS Plus provides an insane amount of value and it's about time it started getting it's flowers.

The market is going to force people back into buying games when on sale. Something has to give. Prices are through the roof for food let alone gaming. I feel like we are going to hit the tipping point soon. Greedy corporations doing what they do best.

I'd like to see a subscription service where for example you can only play a certain number of games per month, but you get to pick the games, and nothing is off limits. I'd pay $30-40 per month for a service like that. Like digital GameFly basically.

Playing two $70 games a month for $30 (if you have the time) it's still pretty good, but yeah, it does suck.

@PsBoxSwitchOwner My series X is a gamepass machine. I’ve been pretty good at using MS rewards for GPU but now they have nerfed that and hiked prices I think it’s getting sold.

They are doing their best to kill the hardware and gamepass. Microsoft leadership really wants to return people to game purchases over subscription

Gamepass is now expensive, and PS Plus is trash. What a time to be alive!

$360 /year? For 5 year alone, that would cost $1800 and that with an assumption MS didn't increase the price again. Dang. Xbox fans are rich huh?

$30 a month for access to something I won’t even own, which can be patched/altered/changed/removed without warning while not necessarily even having a disc version to fall back on? No thanks

I was just researching Gamepass deals today…
Well, GP was fun while it lasted) Looks like they don’t care about competing with PS Extra/Premium anymore

@get2sammyb it really is trash in my opinion, that's why I cancelled my subscription, as I voted with my wallet.

I will be doing the same with GPU

@somnambulance Your comment has just made me stop and think about how many games I'm actually playing through PS Extra. I have a few installed but I own my current rotation. I don't play games online so I'm literally paying for nothing.

I think I might use the rest of my current sub to play through The Last of Us Part 1 and hit that cancel button. Subscription services really are out of control.

$30/month (with no discounts for annual purchases) means you're not getting much of a discount on those $80 games unless you play at least five of them during the year on/around release day.

I suppose you can tweak the math a bit, it's $20/month more than the basic GP, so playing four day-one releases gives you some savings - so long as you also finish them before they leave the service, of course. If you bought them at least you'd "own" them (understanding that especially with digital sales, ownership doesn't always mean what it used to).

Game Pass isn't at all the same value proposition it was at the start - reality is coming.

Comparing it to Plus is still a challenge, because Plus simply doesn't have a tier like GP Ultimate - or even GP Premium, if we're honest.

As expected the Gamepass model just wasn't sustainable unless they jacked up the price considerably. This is after they already jacked up the price. Absolute garbage and I hate how they deceptively tried to frame it as getting more value. This is a greedy price hike through and through, nobody should be defending this.

@get2sammyb
What is this "shorter" or "shortest" "wait times" on cloud gaming for the top 2 tiers? (Included on the picture attached to the article) - it sounds a bit dubious for the lower tier.

I don't think I even spend $360 a year on games that I get to own.

Yeah Gamepass is utterly worthless to me now, I mean, how many people who are actively playing day 1 triple A games really cares about Fortnite? Add to that EA i have no interest in and old Ubisoft games are always dirt cheap, so this is now pointless for me and very poor value

Great sub-heading. Simple, accurate & informative.

People forget a key element here - Microsoft is not interested in maximizing revenue per game. Game developers/publishers are, because they only profit when you spend money on THEIR game, but Microsoft (and Sony and Steam and Apple and all other storefront owners) are interested in maximizing overall revenue. They want us to spend more, collectively, even if that means spending less per game but on more games or services.

They're all setting their prices and services accordingly - whether it's Plus or Game Pass or Steam sales, they're trying to get the most money out of us. If Microsoft were to double their prices and lose less than half their subscribers, that's a net win - especially if the ones they do lose end up buying individual games they would not have purchased as subscribers. It's about total overall revenue, not individual success.

And like a lot of subscription services, they really love the people who are paying but not using. There are probably a lot of GP and Plus subscribers who aren't getting decent value from their subscription, objectively comparing the cost of buying what they play against what they pay. I assume Microsoft and Sony LOVE those folks.

All those fools that continually compared gamepass to ps+ with their constant cries of "where's our day 1 games" are going to be a bit quiet for the forseeable. $360 a year is an obscene fee. I pay £65 for a years worth of ps+ premium.

Sony were spot on sticking to their sustainable and affordable model. The only danger is their own greed sensing an opportunity to squeeze more money out of us.

That's one hell of a price hike. Two tiers without day1. Nasty work.

My PS5 became my secondary console in recent years, hell, maybe even lower than that. I even let my PS+ sub to run down.

But with this GP news, guess who's back baby? PS+ Extra, here I come!

MS knows people won’t pay this. They’ll gladly take the money from the few who do, but the middle tier is where they’ll end up. If first-party games show up within a year, that’s better than PS Plus Extra (where’s Knack 2, PlayStation?) but at a much higher price.

I’m down to PS Plus Essential now, and for the same reason I wouldn’t be on the middle tier of GP: I don’t want to play every game available, and by the time they get to the service they’ve already gone on sale. With my backlog I can wait until a price is too good to pass up.

Yet some still talk about the “free” games they get every month 🤦‍♂️

This price increase is not surprising given the state of the Xbox platform as a whole - I mean, since they started putting exclusives on PS5 the sales of Xbox consoles have dropped off a cliff, and you see more and more comments of people selling their Xbox consoles.

The Day 1 part of GP was unsustainable anyway imo, particularly after the Activision acquisition, and these price raises help prove that - but the stagnant growth of their platform has not helped.

@KidRisky I agree. If I had gamepass I’d be ok with the middle tier. I’m in no rush to play a new game day 1 (99% of the time) and would be happy to wait a year.

Oh this is awesome news. All-you-can eat-subscription model just hurts us all in the long run.

I'd swear Xbox have just given up at this point.

They're products aren't selling so what do they do? Offer a discount? Nope they increase their prices lol

Now with this increase to Game Pass it's almost like they want to fail

Playstation plus price increase incoming! Watch this space

Not justifying the Ultimate price increase, but if you look at the middle tier, it is probably closest to PS Plus Premium at the same price. Can’t really compare Ultimate (with 75+ day one games and a $12 Fortnite sub) to PS Plus Premium.

Wow Xbox are now truly finished and gamepass will see a huge decline after this. If it was so sustainable then an increase wouldn't be needed, pretty clear their whole strategy around gamepass and cloud is crumbling around them and I can guarantee they regret buying Bethesda and ABK.

@Enuo I'm surprised he hasn't been banned yet tbf, it's just non stop sony hate comments.

@awp69 A brand new game added less than every 5 days, yeah, that's not happening.

@KundaliniRising333 "Game Pass ultimate doesn't just do day and date first party releases"

No, they also charge a premium on top of your ultimate subscription to play most of them up to a week early, so the "day 1" subs can sit on their thumbs hoping a new game doesn't get spoiled for them before fomo causes them to capitulate.

NSO looks even more like daylight robbery now. Good heavens.

Then again, anything looks like theft compared to 30 a month.

@Intr1n5ic That’s literally what it says in the graphic for it. 75+ Day One games per year. They already do quite a few day one third party games and indies besides their own.

Wow, it’s like a music artist with a 360 deal 😂😂😂😂

@Max_the_German Every action MS has taken says the opposite.

@awp69 I know what it says, and the only way they'll meet that quota is by adding shovelware.

MS basically parroting the PS+ naming is kind of hysterical, I don't think we're talking about that enough.🤣

The monthly PS+ and XBGP prices do kind of line up but I feel like most people buy PS+ for a year, preferably during a sale. The monthly prices basically only exist to nudge us to the yearly sub b/c "savings". If MS is really putting these prices out there w/ no yearly sub option what are they even doing? Fire everyone who thinks monthly option only is the way to go. All that does is get people to sign up for a month when they want a game then cancel. You need to lock them in with yearly subs, even if it means a stiff discount. That's just common sense.

I don't subscribe to any online services despite playing a lot of games online, including Fortnite, but it's all free, so this doesn't affect me any. My kid did just play a bunch of games on PC Gamepass w/ a 3month pass I bought for them for like $15 a year ago, but they'll just stick with Steam now.

The only people who win from this are Netflix, gaming is getting too expensive.🤑

I thought this was only a matter of time and I was right. I prefer buying my games and actually owning them over paying to rent games. You could buy four games a year over renting games for $30 a month for around the same price give or take. Or buy even more games that are on sale.

Back when I bought my Series X, it came with 2 years of GP. Combined that with the old ‘convert Gold to GP’ trick and I had free GP Ultimate for about 3 1/2 years. That ran out on the 19th of September. And I didn’t care. 🤷‍♂️ I did get to experience the disappointment of South Of Midnight though. So there was that. 😁

To be fair, PS+ Premium does seem to be somewhere between the GamePass Premium and Ultimate, as far as benefits, and that’s about where it fits pricing-wise. PS+ Premium doesn’t get day 1 first party releases. But it does seem to have a bigger library and more perks than the GP Premium.

Still, this does worry me that it’s going to give Sony an excuse to increase their prices. Might be time to stock up and stack an extra year or two!

@tangyzesty That's some fantasy-land level wishing.

I've been an Ultimate subscriber for years. I'm switching to PC only now. I Do play LOTS of games on Game Pass. So technically i probably get my moneys worth but this is way too big a price jump. Hopefully they don't price me out of PC too...

@LordVile 😂😂😂😂😂😂

@get2sammyb
Well, extra is the same price as the Xbox premium if you pay per month. But you get first party games from MS after a year and some streaming…personally I think PS Premium is best, but best is still not that great.

I’m switching back to physical purchases next gen. No more digital or subscriptions for me.

These are the same prices it has been... And those tiers aren't new, just rebranded...

Wot...? It did come out of beta; I don't know if that's caused confusion, or something

@LordVile The leaks and rumours are that the next gen Xbox will be significantly more powerful then the PS6 BUT also significantly MORE expensive, apparently it will literally just be a Windows PC so you can install Steam etc.. Meanwhile Valve will be launching it’s own home console soon based on Steam OS and the Steam store, and will most likely cost a LOT less then Microsoft’s new box, MS have literally lost the plot!

@UltimateOtaku91

Netflix in the US costs $24.99, so that hasn't stopped people from subscribing. Moreover, Netflix is ​​now even more popular despite the price increase. Sony, like Microsoft, will increase the price for its subscription services, but the question is when.

That’s it… I’ve had enough! I’m finally switching to Xbox! /s

@4fold

PS+ Extra is a far better option than PS+ Premium. Sony's cloud gaming will never be on the same level as GeForce Now.

@UltimateOtaku91

Sony is no better than Microsoft because it also works to the detriment of users. I hate Sony and Microsoft because they never care about gamers, they only think about how to get as much money as possible. I don't understand people who defend Sony and Microsoft. PlayStation fanboys are no better than Xbots because they also spread hatred towards other platforms.

@PCMasterRace Streamed for 10 days at a hotel this month on the Portal, so I respectfully disagree. It was pretty much flawless

If Sony increases the price for its subscription services, no one will criticize it just because it is Sony, which everyone claims is the best company in the gaming industry.

The self-inflected wounds of stupid tyranny continue.

@PCMasterRace
It's a certainty they will increase the price now. As long as the service is still cheaper than Game Pass, they can get away with it.

@4fold

Only PS fanboys claim that PS+ Premium is on par with GeForce Now, when in reality neither Sony nor Microsoft is on par with Nvidia when it comes to cloud gaming

"The highest resolutions and frame rates in the cloud: NVIDIA DLSS 4 with Multi Frame Generation unlocks up to 5K streaming at 120 frames per second (fps) — performance once reserved for the most elite PCs. NVIDIA Reflex technology levels up the cloud for competitive gaming, delivering streams up to 360 fps at 1080p and network latency under 30 milliseconds."

https://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/geforce-now-thursday-gamescom-2025/#:~:text=The%20highest%20resolutions%20and%20frame,network%20latency%20under%2030%20milliseconds.

@4fold

It's better to play PS1, PS2, and PS3 via emulators on PC than to get a PS+ Premium subscription.

@PCMasterRace

If Sony increases the price for its subscription services, no one will criticize it just because it is Sony, which everyone claims is the best company in the gaming industry.

You must be new here?

PlayStation fanboys are no better than Xbots because they also spread hatred towards other platforms.

Looks at username 👀

What about PC fanboys? 😇

Original PS Plus subscription (Essential) is still the best one out of these

@PCMasterRace
🤷‍♂️ mines perfect. Maybe if I experienced better than perfect I’d agree, but I’ve not tried GeForce Now

Thanks god I quit PS+ a while ago already and have PC now as primary platform and skip all these crap subscription services / online fees! Totally against these subs plans and will never adhere to them in any sector, gaming, movies or whatever..

@Sakai
So because you don't find anything you like, it's junk? Okay, logic is spot on. I'm perfectly happy with PS Premium for €80 a year. And I just buy the games I like.

After this bs I was thinking of dropping my pre-order of the rog Xbox ally x, but there's still pc game pass but that's going up to $16.49. The rog Xbox ally x isn't costing me anything birthday gift with the case that goes with it.

@PCMasterRace Just a quick question: why on earth are you commenting on a PlayStation news site? Do you just enjoy trolling? #nolifemasterrace

@TommyNL Is trolling allowed now by pc elites?

I only got psplus essential and I'm happy. Playstation store always got sales.and the games are getting cheaper on ebay also.just buy the games when they're on sales.word up son

@get2sammyb surely Sony can just play the waiting game and get more people switched to them and Sonys subscription service after this Xbox price hike?

@playstation1995 I’m exactly the same 👍

I laugh at all the big three plead poverty and go on about costs and start increasing prices or skimping.
Then every quarter tell us how well they are doing with this and that. Sometimes record profits for some of them.

I've never seen a dust collector change so much in my life. This paper weight of a xbox series X under my entertainment center has had 20 different prices and 20 different versions/prices of its online service this generation alone.

@StitchJones If it's ben a paper weight then why the hell did you get it?

Gamepass ultimate definitely doesn't look appealing at $30 but PS plus still looks like a terrible deal. Nothing can make that look good.

And pure xbox are twisting this as a good thing , they're the labour party of gaming news

Final nail for my series s console.

RIP Xbox

@PsBoxSwitchOwner Sony don't put day one games on their service only indi games etc

@BacklogBrad if u say so

@XenonKnight I got it on launch day. I've always been a two console gamer (PS/xbox) even though I favor and I'm primarily a Playstation Diehard. Nobody had any idea back then that Xbox was gonna tank hard in this industry. That's why

@StitchJones Now you know buying a xbox is a waste of money for yourself. What are you going to do with it? It's sound like you would be better off keeping it in the box.

I'm so pissed off right now i couldn't find any pc game pass cards with the old price today.

We all knew first-party day one releases at $15/month was too good to be true. Profitable? Lol, right. At $30, Ultimate it's essentially "cancelled" as a mass market service. I imagine very few people play enough games to justify that spending.

But honestly, when I look at the $15 tier, I don't agree that PS+ Extra offers better value. First-party releases "within a year" is not bad at all considering the amount and quality of games Microsoft puts out these days.

Sony has been on the record saying how bad for business it was when they released Forbidden West on Extra within that time frame. Now it takes multiple years for first-party games to get to Extra.

I'm a Premium subscriber and I've never owned an Xbox so this is outside's perspective, but I'm very inclined to downgrade to Essential and just buy the games I actually want when I see a good discount.

@XenonKnight I had the OG, 360 was obv their best, xbox one was ok but slowly a dust collector late gen, but yeah you are right. I will never buy another xbox product ever. Besides the fact its a dust collector I just can't support a company with my $$$$ that is negatively affecting the industry like they are. So there's that on top of it all.

@StitchJones Trading it in for something more useful is a option.

@XenonKnight I already have a ps5pro and as you know there's been an onslaught of releases the last few months due to the GTA6 affect, with much more to come into next year. So I'm fine. Don't need any advice for gaming lol. Thank you though

I think the price increase is a ridiculous, it's their own fault for how they handle staff for the 1st party to fit this model and make the games worse due to how staff are cycled (at least for Forza Motorsport).

3rd party deals with Gamepass seem to be going well enough I guess.

The companies want more and more, offer a fair amount yet not really much to justify the price really.

I just sit and watch as they do these decisions and never subscription but understand the model just enough.

To me it just makes me question why anyone would want to join if they haven't already and besides those you join/quit/rejoin when they feel like it which is fair to do.

They already have had Day One releases on top tier for a while now, Core does what it does for multiplayer and a handful to experience, PC one exists for that purpose.

What more are they going to justify things with.

Play Anywhere and others are changing/being worked on well enough I'd say, even the cloud resolution targeting was nice to see as well. Something even Sony didn't bother with for Portal yet did Vita remote play. No idea for PS+ cloud side of things enough for me to comment on that as don't have access to it so not sure what to research if people have it detailed.

Either way prices go up and yet unless big games happen or services are good enough whats the point. What factors will they let it plateau/hold it there for a while, or not. Justify the price.

Mines got until June 2026 then will decide depending on how much it costs, like PS+ anyone that pays the full price is silly as always a way to get it cheaper.
Current gamepass membership was done with the old gold to gamepass ultimate trick, those were the days when they didn't even care about being able to do that.

@Haruki_NLI I'd be careful with those words...What if Microsoft spiked the ball into Nintendo's court with this play rather than Sony's? (This coming from someone who balked at the Expansion Pass over the price difference compared to benefits...)

How do you say "I told you so", without saying "I told you so?"

Aha! They couldn't wait anymore. The "switch" from the "bait and switch" finally came.
Make no mistake, this was always the plan. They just hoped to dominate the industry first and give people no choice. So, this is actually the preferable outcome.

For now, PS+ looks decent, until they raise the prices, now Xbox is effectively no competition, so anything cheaper looks like a good deal. As a PlayStation gamer, I am genuinely worried about what PlayStation will do with no competition to keep them on their toes. If that PS6 is over £500, I will just have to get a PC.

When there is less market competition, consumers suffer for it.

There’s a part of me that actually kinda applauds the move, because it did seem like an insane deal to offer so many day 1 games and I’m of the opinion that it was actively harming the industry by devaluing the games it was so readily giving away. Felt like we were on a similar trajectory to Spotify, which has irreparably harmed the music industry.

I won’t subscribe to a service that expensive personally, but I’m also OK with actually buying the games I want to play. It’ll be fascinating to see if it results in more revenue for devs releasing on Xbox than before. I really hope it does.

@StitchJones the 360 was the best? Red ring of death every 5 mins,despite being tagged as a full HD console barely ever hit a constant 720p and the audio output was pretty awful fidelity wise. All the 360 did was make me go back to sonys machine and I've been happy ever since. I'm glad you enjoyed your time with the 360 but for me and no doubt millions of others it was a nightmare of a machine reliability wise. No need to reply I already know I'm wrong..

Glad that I just stacked game pass for another year in advance, but after that it'll be dropped like a hot potato.

PS Plus, Gamepass, whatever rubbish service Nintendo fleeces their fanbase with, all garbage.
And for those brain surgeons who "called it", a bag of potatoes could've seen this coming. Congratulations you found your equal, well done!

Microsoft and Sony. Greedy corpo c**ts!

@ApostateMage Why not mention Nintendo, they are just as bad.

If you look at the day one release schedule for Game Pass Ultimate in the last 12 months, it has been massively underpriced so I'm not at all surprised this has happened.

im sure there will articles like this when sony raise the price of ps plus again

Everyone "no way, is putting your games on at launch for a small fee, profitable and isnt hurting sales of games"

Xbox "yes yes, profitable, this is the future"

Awhile later.

Xbox "due to the raising costs and not because the platform wasn't profitable we are having to double the price of our service and give you the same service. Thankyou, I hope we get way more subscriptions at the higher price"

Just makes me life, like games can be put onto a subscription type like Netflix when games costs double or triple a film or series costs to make and years development time compared to a film which normally is done within a year.

Its just not happening

@Northern_munkey In fairness, despite the massive initial hardware issues, the Xbox 360 is regarded as one of the greatest consoles ever.

It perfected online console gaming, introduced digital storefronts, was the home to some of the industry's biggest franchises and usually had the best versions of multiplatform games.

This isn't my opinion, but the opinion of pretty much any gaming journalists who worked during that generation.

it shouldn`t be the better option just cause the competition is garbage, sony should work to make psn+ a better service, cause as of right now i`m not gonna pay 80$ a year and be grateful just cause other people get to pay 360$.

I can see why XBox or Gamepass fans aren’t happy about it but I don’t think the fate of Gamepass or even Xbox is that big a deal for anyone else. Sony and Nintendo have made lots of mistakes but consistently stayed squarely focused on games and dedicated hardware because it is huge business for them.

MS has thrown around a lot of money by industry standards but for MS the game division was always a side project of little consequence (to their overall earnings and thus their big bosses and shareholders, though I am sure there are lots of passionate people in its game division) and MS wasn’t going to tolerate loss forever.

I’m not saying Gamepass or even Xbox is doomed because it does have a lot of talent and makes a lot of fun games but clearly it no longer has the blank check it used to.

@SMJ it is? That's news to me anyway.

@naruball Sorry, I'm not sure which of my posts you were referring to.

@LordVile Very good only problem is the 360 came out about 10 years before gamepass even existed but congratulations on connecting obvious dots 👏
Gold star🌟

@SMJ The 360 was an amazing machine and played a lot of games better than the opposition you are right!
The red ring of death issue was only with the original big 360 and only the first couple versions and the console excelled despite that!
Some of this sites users are very biased against anything Xbox related!

Wow no thanks I'll rather just buy games on sales for my XSX or games 2nd hand but to be honest I'm still playing on my Xbox 360 because it doesn't have many of the games I have that play on it

They are doing all they can to fund it's AI race to get to no.1 and jobs, studios and customers will be sacrificed to get there. I hope they lose it and then realise the damage they have done to the brand that really made them more of a house hold name than Windows did

@SMJ fair enough point buddy.

finally. good riddance.
adios. bye bye.
rest in peace.

@Jey887 that is where I am now. I realized I barely play online, so when PS Plus subscription ended, I didn't bother to renew, it's been over a year.

Games drop in price fast, game fly has good sales too even on fairly new games, I just got AC Shadows with the DLC expansion code included for $30 after shipping.

I always found PS Plus better in terms of value because it usually had more games I would want to play on it for the most part but that is down more to my taste in games. PS Plus premium now seems like an absolute bargain now though especially compared to GPU. It was inevitable that it would happen though even after many said that it wasn't sustainable at that price especially after all the acquisitions and still offering every new game day one. They have to fund those games some how through either direct sales or increasing the subscription price. They couldn't keep potentially making them at a loss and hope people start subscribing in their masses as that hasn't really happened an the growth for gaming subscription services has pretty much stopped for now.

It's the only way PS plus can look good, when the competition sucks Still keeping my sub for a while at least with Ninja Gaiden 4 and OW2 round the corner. Still a better service than PS+ and that says something about Sony's service lol. Gotta admit i'm not happy about it but oh well, life's tough.

"New Ways To Play Your Way".... Nah! Not really is it?. These tiers are definitely set-up to induce subliminal effects on the weak minded. Once you look at the offerings of essential and premium, the voice in your head that you didn't realise was there tells you to go ultimate. Clever microsoft. Doesn't work on me though, my ultimate runs out next week and that reoccurring billing has been turned off.

I'd happily do without any subscription apart from a) my odd foray into ESO and b) save game backups which the PS4 has available on a USB stick but not the PS5 game saves (oddly the PS4 saves to local backup are still allowed on The Tub o' Lard).

I’m a huge advocate for owning games vs renting, and always have been, regardless of system. That said. Even Helen Keller saw this price increase coming! The low priced gp model of day one releases, for top tier games is just not sustainable long term, unless majority of players subscribe, and even then it might just break even. Honestly I’m surprised that it stayed so inexpensive for so long.

@Oz_Who_Dat_Dare yeah I’d have to agree on this one. And not just for Xbox, ps plus also. For me it right next to the push for digital only games. Once people are normalized to a subscription then the business model morphs: Make them digital then lock them behind a paywall, then increase the price of the subscription.

@Blacksmith1985 good to hear from you..I hope you are all safe and well 👍

On paper, it's a lot of stuff for the price. But I seriously doubt most people will ever use it all. The Fortnite bit seems especially unusual, it's probably making a lot of the price increase, yet who is it going to appeal to? Fortnite enthusiasts (from my experience) play little else other than Fortnite.

I originally bought my series S to...run certain things on it. Then I fell in love with game pass for a while....but now it seems like I'll switch back to running certain things on it.

If Xbox does not feel enough pressure to roll this back, you can be 100% certain Sony will also increase prices within a year, even if its only by increasing the 12 month bundle price or eliminating it entirely.

The article doesn't specify just how BIG the gulf between the two services are with day one additions, there will be more than seventy five day one additions to GP in the next twelve months while Sony will give us what? Like ten? Those additions won't be cheap and could maybe explain the 'gulf' in price difference...only time will tell.

Everything about Playstation is better and always has been better then the Bill Gates Trash box

From a business strategy point of view, this is clearly an attempt at re-educating players to pay for games, without admitting the system wasn’t working for developers, and, obviously, to get more money out of players that insist on day one releases. The trouble is, over the years, by boasting about day one releases, Microsoft has encouraged a large amount of entitlement in their player base and it’s coming back to bite them. You can see that, when people complain about studio lay-offs, yet demand free games.

PS Plus don't have any tier to compete with Ultimate

Subscription services just need to die.....PERIOD!