Sony reveals changes to PlayStation Plus, adding a new Premium tier to the service that brings game streaming to players on PC.
Today’s big announcement from Sony was the reveal of PlayStation’s restructured PlayStation Plus subscription, which adds multiple new features and three pricing tiers. While much of the focus in today’s announcement revolved around PlayStation Plus on PS4 and PS5, PC gamers have not been left out, with the new PlayStation Plus Premium tier bringing PlayStation games to PC via streaming.
In recent years Sony has gradually warmed up to the PC platform, bringing hit PlayStation exclusives to PC. Sony's latest PC release was God of War in January, and Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection is arriving later this year. However, before Sony ever took on a larger initiative to port PlayStation games to PC, it provided PC gamers with the option to stream PS exclusive games to its machines via PlayStation Now.
Sony’s three-tiered structure of PlayStation Plus integrates the soon-to-be-defunct PlayStation Now into the Extra and Premium tiers, offering game streaming for subscribers of those respective tiers. Extra offers streaming of select PS4 and PS5 titles, while Premium allows customers to stream and download a selection of original PlayStation, PS2, PSP, and PS3 titles and the included benefits of PlayStation Plus Extra. PC gaming is brought into the mix with PlayStation Plus Premium’s cloud streaming service, which Sony states will be accessible on PC. For the price of $17.99 monthly, or $119.99 yearly, PC gamers will be able to stream games from multiple PlayStation eras to their devices.
Many PC gamers will be quick to notice that PlayStation Plus Premium is very much the same service that PlayStation Now previously was for them. PC gamers still have no option to download the games natively, and at $17.99 a month, it is quite the price increase from the previous $9.99 a month for PlayStation Now. Additionally, Sony’s restructured PlayStation Now service is not available in all territories, making the service inaccessible for many gamers, PC or otherwise.
For PC gamers, PlayStation Plus Premium may be a hard sell. The PC gaming market is flooded with many streaming services, from Microsoft’s Xbox Cloud Gaming to Nvidia’s Geforce Now and Google’s Stadia. PlayStation Plus Premium is another competitor in a busy market, with its main selling point being classic PlayStation titles accessible only on the service but at a premium price.
However, some fans with great internet speeds and a craving for classic PlayStation titles may find this service very attractive. Additionally, players that own both a PS5 and a PC may reap the benefits of PlayStation Plus Premium on their PS5, with the PC streaming as a bonus. Players will have to watch how Sony continues to expand its services to the PC platform.
Source: PlayStation Blog
Adrian is a writer and avid gamer from the great state of New Jersey. A gamer since he could remember with a passion for the PS2 era. He helps run an indie record label when not writing or gaming.
