A new report says that Sony is working on its own competitor to Xbox Game Pass, a new tiered system that would change or combine PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now.
The original report from Bloomberg revealed details that the subscription-based service would be open to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 owners, giving access to recent and classic games. There would be three planned levels of service, with the lowest price level similar to the current PlayStation Plus. The second tier would open up the library to PlayStation 4 games and some PlayStation 5 games down the line. The highest-priced tier would include all of the above plus demo, streaming, and a library of games from PlayStation history, meaning access to games from the PlayStation, PS2, PS3, and the PSP.
The subscription-based service is nicknamed Spartacus in development, and expected launch would be in the spring, following some announcement that PlayStation Plus and PlayStation now will merge and be replaced by the new service. The Bloomberg report states that details are not finalized yet but the report show that Sony may be interested in keeping the PlayStation Plus branding alive but getting rid of PlayStation Now eventually.
When it comes to console gaming, access in the multiplayer online game and the MMOs space has grown over the past decade, and we're seeing more cross-play available. With this kind of service, Sony would be able to offer multiple levels as it already does, but with a new structure and more options. Even Nintendo recently got into adding a higher-tier Nintendo Switch Online membership that includes access to Nintendo 64 games, something missing from the standard membership. And Final Fantasy games have been featured on Game Pass before.
With cross-play, expected growth in the cloud gaming space, and all the metaverse information we've been hearing about, setting up a new service that would bring a mix of classic and current along with new features could be a good idea for right now.
