PS Plus: everything you need to know about Premium, Extra and Essential
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PS Plus has undergone an overhaul, with new tiered membership options offering a range of benefits to subscribers. It’s a brand new approach that aligns Sony’s subscription service with that of its competitors. Not only that, but the caliber of the included games has also been vastly improved.
The all-new PlayStation game subscription service combines PS Plus and PS Now in a new PS Plus package for PS4 and PS5. It was only a matter of time before Sony answered the juggernaut that is Xbox Game Pass, but it’s no comparable competitor. Sony says the focus of the revamp is to provide players with diverse, premium titles, giving subscribers access to a new library of games.
PS Plus now offers a handful of free monthly games and the ability to play online multiplayer. There are three levels to choose from, each with a different selection of benefits. These have progressively higher prices depending on what they contain and range from simple free game packs to ways to play older PlayStation games. Here’s what you need to know about the three tiers, including their associated prices and benefits.
PS Plus Price
The new PS Plus brings together both PS Now and the existing PS Plus in one all-encompassing three-tier service. For regions without cloud gaming support, such as Australia, there is a slightly cheaper tier called PS Plus Deluxe instead of Premium.
We will go into the details of the levels in the next sectionbut in terms of pricing, here’s what we’re looking at:
- PS Plus Essential
- $9.99 per month / $24.99 per quarter / $59.99 per year
- £6.99 per month / £19.99 per quarter / £49.99 per year
- AU$11.95 per month / AU$33.95 per quarter / AU$79.95 per year
- PS Plus Extra
- $14.99 per month / $39.99 per quarter / $99.99 per year
- £10.99 per month / £31.99 per quarter / £83.99 per year
- AU$18 per month / AU$54.95 per quarter / AU$134.95 per year
- PS Plus Premium
- $17.99 per month / $49.99 per quarter / $119.99 per year
- £13.49 per month / £39.99 per quarter / £99.99 per year
- PS Plus Deluxe
- AU$21.95 per month / AU$63 per quarter / $154.95 per year
Compared to before, PS Plus Essential is exactly the same service as your previous PS Plus subscription and at that level the price is unchanged.
With PS Plus you can play online and get a handful of free PS4, PS5 and PlayStation VR games every month, as well as exclusive discounts and member content. There’s also 100GB of cloud storage thrown in, along with the Share Play feature.
With PS Now you can download or stream a collection of PS4, PS3 and PS2 games on PS5, PS4 and Windows PC. It wasn’t available in Australia, but it cost $9.99 / $24.99 / $59.99 for one, three, and 12-month options in the US. UK prices came in at £8.99 / £22.99 / £49.99 for the same steps. So, assuming you’ve subscribed to both services, PS Plus Premium essentially matches that price.
If you previously subscribed to PS Now, that subscription has been migrated to PS Plus Premium. In fact, this came without increasing your existing subscription fees at launch. Otherwise, existing PS Plus subscribers have switched to PS Plus Essential.
PS Plus Levels
The PS Plus subscription has three tiers, PlayStation Plus Essential, PlayStation Plus Extra, and PlayStation Plus Premium.
For cloud streaming areas, PlayStation Plus Deluxe is on the table at a lower cost compared to PlayStation Plus Premium.
The former standard PS Plus subscription is the same as the new Essential tier and the pricing has remained the same.
PS Plus Essential
- Benefits:
- Two monthly downloadable games
- Exclusive discounts
- Cloud storage for saved games
- Online Multiplayer Access
- Offers the same benefits that PlayStation Plus members get today
- There are no changes for existing PlayStation Plus members in this tier
- Benefits:
- Provides all the benefits of the Essential tier
- Adds a catalog of up to 400 PS4 and PS5 games, including blockbuster hits from the PlayStation Studios catalog and third-party partners. Games in the Extra tier can be downloaded to play.
PS Plus Premium
- Benefits:
- Offers all the benefits of Essential and Extra tiers
- Access to cloud streaming for original PlayStation, PS2, PSP and PS4 games offered in the Extra and Premium tiers in markets where PlayStation Now is currently available. Customers can stream games using PS4 and PS5 consoles and PC.
- Time-limited game trials are also offered in this level, allowing customers to try out certain games before purchasing
- Adds up to 340 additional games, including:
- PS3 games available via cloud streaming
- A catalog of beloved classic games available in both streaming and download options from the original PlayStation, PS2, and PSP generations
PS Plus Deluxe
PS Plus Deluxe is a regional equivalent of PS Plus Premium. It is only available in regions that do not currently support cloud gaming, such as Australia and New Zealand, for a lower price. Otherwise, Deluxe includes all the other benefits of the Essential and Extra tiers. That’s in addition to a catalog of classic PlayStation, PS2, and PSP games to download and play, and limited-time game trials.
PS Plus games
We first took a look at the PS Plus catalog of new games when it started rolling out in Asia. The updated subscription service of over 400 PS4 and PS5 games from first- and third-party developers for Extra/Premium subscribers. There are also retro games from the eras PS1, PS2, and PS3 (via cloud streaming).
However, the catalog for Extra/Premium subscribers changes between months and like Xbox Game Pass, once they leave PS Plus, you won’t keep access. There are new titles to dive into in the middle of each month, the number of which will vary, but this is spread out nicely across the PS Plus Essential games.
look at the PlayStation website (opens in new tab) for a complete list of every game in the catalog.
Upcoming PS Plus games
Here are the new additions to the PS Plus Extra library:
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Special Edition | PS4, PS5
- Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege | PS4, PS5
- Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX | PS4
- Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Prologue Final Chapter | PS4
- Kingdom Hearts III | PS4
- Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory | PS4
- Oddworld: Soulstorm – Enhanced Edition | PS4, PS5
- Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 | PS4
- Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint | PS4
- Chorus | PS4, PS5
- What’s left of Edith Finch | PS4
- The gardens in between | PS4, PS5
As for the PS Plus Premium library, you have all the games included in Extra, plus a few extra classics:
- Ratchet & Clank | PS3
- Ratchet & Clank 2: Going Commando | PS3
- Ratchet & Clank: Upgrade Your Arsenal | PS3
- Ratchet & Clank: Stuck | PS3
- Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction | PS3
We can usually predict when we’ll find out when the next PS Plus games will be announced, for both the Essential and Extra/Premium catalogs.
Essential games are usually revealed on the last Wednesday of each month. Sony has also confirmed that we’ll see the catalog expand halfway through each month, so expect to hear more at that time.
However, in 2022, Dealabs user billbil-kun (opens in new tab) leaked this lineup repeatedly (and accurately) beforehand. So there’s a chance we’ll find out what we’re getting sooner. As soon as we know what other games are coming to PS Plus next time, we’ll keep it updated.