Sony has said it isn’t ruling out further price increases to its popular PlayStation Plus subscription service, stating that it will “continue to add more value,” which could result in adjustments to its pricing strategy. Much like other popular gaming subscription services, PlayStation Plus grants subscribers access to online titles, monthly games, and an extensive game catalogue with titles rotated in and out monthly. The service has three different tiers available, each with their own benefits.
In August 2023, Sony shocked fans by confirming a big price increase for PlayStation Plus. The change came into effect from September 6, 2023, with yearly subscriptions going up by 33%. The cost of a 12-month PlayStation Plus Essential subscription was raised from $59.99 to $79.99, while a yearly Extra subscription was increased from $99.99 to $134.99 and a Premium subscription for the same amount of time was raised from $119.99 to $159.99. The unexpected price increase did not see the cost of monthly or three monthly subscriptions increased, but there may be some bad news on the way.
Sony Will ‘Continue to Adjust’ PS Plus Pricing Strategy
According to a new business meeting at Sony (reported on by VGC), the company seemingly isn’t against increasing the price of PlayStation Plus once again. This comes as Sony president and CEO Hideaki Nishino says subscribers are increasingly choosing Extra and Premium tiers, which are more expensive than the standard PlayStation Plus Essential subscription. According to the CEO, 38% of all subscribers are made up of PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium users. “This is even after the global price increases we implemented in FY2023, and more recently, the local price increases in selected countries, to improve our pricing strategy across certain market clusters, and also to account for [foreign exchange] movements,” Nishino said.
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Nishino then explained that the price increases seen in 2023 and earlier this year for PlayStation Plus subscribers in Canada, were partly due to an increase in value that the service now offers subscribers. The CEO then went on to state, “The PlayStation Plus service offers great value for our players, and we will continue to add more value and adjust our pricing strategy in a dynamic way to maximise profitability,” seemingly confirming that the company is not against increasing the subscription price even further in the future.
Continued price hikes shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, as plenty of other services within the industry are also increasing subscription costs. In July 2024, Microsoft announced that it would be raising the price for Xbox Game Pass on both PC and consoles. The changes then came into effect from September 12, which saw Xbox Game Pass Ultimate increase its price by $3, taking the subscription from $16.99 a month to $19.99. The cost of a yearly subscription was also raised by $36. Other tiers were also affected by the increase, with PC Game Pass being increased from $9.99 a month to $11.99 and Xbox Game Pass Core seeing a yearly rise from $59.99 to $74.99.
While there are numerous factors to take into account when it comes to price hikes, Sony made a point of noting that price increases are often due to the continued value that the company offers with the subscription. Both Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus add big new titles every month, allowing gamers to play some of the biggest titles around without the need to pay for the game. For example, PS Plus Premium subscribers will receive Battlefield 2042, FBC: Firebreak, Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted 2, theHunter: Call of the Wild, and many more this month.
