Earlier this week, Sony finally revealed the new tiered subscription variant of PlayStation Plus that’s coming in June. As per the earlier leaks, Sony is saying goodbye to the PS Now handle in favor of going forward with a unified PlayStation Plus program that comes in three tiers. Although the rebranded PS Plus is far from a Game Pass competitor, Sony is banking on its extensive library of titles to keep up. For the most part, Sony is in the right, as the PlayStation brand has traditionally won out against its competition as far as console-selling franchises and series go. But, it appears that Sony has managed to secure more than just in-house games. According to the President and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, Jim Ryan, those who will sign up for the more expensive PS Plus Extra and Premium services will enjoy games from “every major publisher.” In addition, Ryan mentioned in a sitdown with Gamesindustry that Sony is hoping to have everything available from “indies” to “big games” and games that celebrate Sony’s “heritage.” We already know that some of the best PS5 games right now like Returnal and Marvel’s Spider-Man are part of the selection, but the rest remain a secret. We’d like to think that the tech giant has spent a significant amount of money to pay major publishers to beef up the PlayStation Plus catalog. Even so, this wouldn’t explain why Sony remains reluctant to clarify which games are coming or not. We can also say the same for all the retro games from the PS1, PS2, and PSP, as well as the PS3 (via cloud streaming) coming to PS Plus Premium. It’s nice that Sony is finally stepping up its subscription game, but we are worried about the lack of cold-hard facts. Sony has done an excellent job giving PlayStation fans something to look forward to and the bold claim is welcome news. However, consumers are at the mercy of Sony’s oft-unpredictable customer relationships approach. Only time will tell if Ryan’s latest statement was figurative and not literal. Either way, we can take it as a sign that Sony has had lengthy discussions with all parties involved. We’re hoping that this includes games from Activision Blizzard and maybe even ZeniMax Media, both of which are now part of Microsoft Gaming under Phil Spencer.
