Sony set to combine PlayStation Plus and PS Now to rival Xbox Game Pass — report

By Kes Eylers-Stephenson,

Sony is reportedly going to combine its PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now services — one for online and one to stream games — into a single subscription model that can compete with the hugely successful Xbox Game Pass.

Jason Schrier's Bloomberg report claims that the new Plus and Now service — supposedly codenamed "Spartacus" — is set for Spring 2022. This would come at the cost of the PlayStation Now brand, but create a library of games that might rival Xbox Game Pass —if not in quantity, then certainly quality.

Now, allegedly, this service is going to a three-tier system. A basic version would apparently be your standard PlayStation Plus subscription that allows access to online functionality, cloud saving, discounts on the store, and monthly games. It remains to be seen if any of those features would be taken away. The second tier would be one with a massive catalogue of PS4 games, with PS5 games set to be added in the future. The third tier is apparently going to do all of that, while adding in PS1, PS2, PS3, and PSP games alongside "extended" demos — whatever that means — and game streaming, as per Now.

This could be huge news. PlayStation fans have been calling for this ever since Game Pass launched. Normally, when something this big leaks, PlayStation will ensure it can get on top of the messaging as soon as possible, so we could perhaps expect an official word soon! What do you think of this report? Let us know in the comments below!

Written by Kes Eylers-Stephenson

Editor Kes is our resident expert in PlayStation and other gaming news. He writes about exclusives like The Last of Us and God of War, PS Plus news, and his favourite games — The Witcher, Assassin’s Creed, and explosive racers — before an evening swim.