Forward-looking: In response to the success of the Xbox Game Pass, Sony is combining PlayStation Plus and Now to offer a more enticing service to their users. Starting June, PlayStation Plus will be available in four new membership tiers, each offering different features and benefits to the subscribers.

Following the rumors that Sony would reveal a new subscription for PlayStation users this week, the Japanese company announced it would relaunch PlayStation Plus. In June, Sony will be merging PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now into a single service, available in four different memberships: Essential, Extra, Premium, and Deluxe.

It's worth mentioning that the Essential and Extra plans are available everywhere, while Premium and Deluxe subscriptions are interchangeable depending on the region. Membership details follow.

PlayStation Plus Essential

  • Replaces the existing PlayStation Plus subscription, providing users with the same services and benefits, including:
    • Two monthly downloadable games
    • Exclusive discounts
    • Cloud storage for saved games
    • Online multiplayer access
  • Price for PlayStation Plus Essential remains the same as the current price for PlayStation Plus:
    • United States - $9.99 monthly / $24.99 quarterly / $59.99 yearly
    • Europe - €8.99 monthly / €24.99 quarterly / €59.99 yearly
    • United Kingdom - £6.99 monthly / £19.99 quarterly / £49.99 yearly
    • Japan - ¥850 monthly / ¥2,150 quarterly / ¥5,143 yearly

PlayStation Plus Extra

  • Provides all the benefits from the Essential tier
  • Adds a catalog of up to 400 PS4 and PS5 games:
    • Blockbuster hits from PlayStation Studios and third-party partners
    • Games in the Extra tier are downloadable for play
  • Price for PlayStation Plus Extra membership:
    • United States - $14.99 monthly / $39.99 quarterly / $99.99 yearly
    • Europe - €13.99 monthly / €39.99 quarterly / €99.99 yearly
    • United Kingdom - £10.99 monthly / £31.99 quarterly / £83.99 yearly
    • Japan - ¥1,300 monthly / ¥3,600 quarterly / ¥8,600 yearly

PlayStation Plus Premium

  • Provides all the benefits from Essential and Extra tiers
  • Adds up to 340 additional games, including:
    • PS3 games available via cloud streaming
    • A catalog of classic games available in both streaming and download options from the original PlayStation, PS2, and PSP generations
  • Offers cloud streaming access for original PlayStation, PS2, PSP, and PS4 games provided in the Extra and Premium tiers in markets where PlayStation Now is currently available (customers can only stream games using PS4, PS5, and PC)
  • Time-limited game trials to try before you buy
  • Price:
    • United States - $17.99 monthly / $49.99 quarterly / $119.99 yearly
    • Europe - €16.99 monthly / €49.99 quarterly / €119.99 yearly
    • United Kingdom - £13.49 monthly / £39.99 quarterly / £99.99 yearly
    • Japan - ¥1,550 monthly / ¥4,300 quarterly / ¥10,250 yearly

PlayStation Plus Deluxe

  • Only available for markets without cloud streaming
  • Provides all the benefits from Essential and Extra tiers
  • Includes a catalog of classic games from the original PlayStation, PS2, and PSP generations to download and play
  • Time-limited game trials
  • PlayStation Plus Deluxe will be offered at a lower price compared to Premium, with local pricing varying by market

The Extra and Premium tiers look like a direct response to Xbox Game Pass, which has seen a yearly increase in subscribers. Games in these tiers include Death Stranding, God of War, Marvel's Spider-Man, Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Mortal Kombat 11, and Returnal, to name a few. The company promises to reveal more details regarding included games soon.

However, if you were hoping to get day-one releases as Microsoft does with Game Pass, that won't be the case. In an interview, PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan said that PlayStation is currently in "a good, virtuous cycle" where investment generates good results. That's PlayStation's current reality, and the CEO believes gamers like it.

"[In terms of] putting our own games into this service, or any of our services, upon their release... as you well know, this is not a road that we've gone down in the past. And it's not a road that we're going to go down with this new service. We feel if we were to do that with the games that we make at PlayStation Studios, that virtuous cycle will be broken. The level of investment that we need to make in our studios would not be possible, and we think the knock-on effect on the quality of the games that we make would not be something that gamers want."

He's not completely wrong on that count. Many PS+ members were concerned the changes would negatively affect how their current membership works. As it is, for those subscribers who just have a PS+ membership, things remain status quo. As for PlayStation Now, subscribers automatically migrate into PlayStation Plus Extra, and prices will remain the same at launch.

The all-new PlayStation Plus service will first roll out in Asia, followed by North America, Europe, and the remaining regions. By the end of H1 2022, Sony expects to have the redesigned service available in most PlayStation Network territories. In addition, PlayStation plans to expand its cloud streaming service into more regions down the road.