As confirmed in its earlier release schedule, Sony rolled out the rebranded PS Plus in North America today, and it’s certainly drawing the expected mixed reactions. On one hand, most still aren’t happy that it’s competing directly against the Xbox Game Pass. At the same time, some subscribers are more than happy to pay the literal Premium price for access to a slew of existing PlayStation exclusives and classic titles for a fraction of the cost. All things considered, the lack of day-and-date launches of PlayStation exclusives is far from a deal-breaker; each PS Plus tier appeals to a different subset of gamers. If you have an active PS Plus subscription, the Essential tier costs $9.99 a month or $59.99 a year and is exactly the same service. You will still get your monthly video game freebies like God of War for June, cloud storage, massive discounts as well as exclusive content. But, if you’re willing to shell out more money, the Extra tier at $14.99 each month or $99.99 a year gives you all the Essential features and a rotating library of more than 400 first- and third-party PS4 and PS5 titles. Finally, the Premium tier at $17.99 per month or $119.99 annually, gives you everything else that we’ve mentioned along with game trials, cloud streaming of PS3 games, as well as a library of classic games from the original PlayStation, the PS2, and the PSP. The best part here is that American players get the most out of the classic games emulation feature of the new PS Plus. After Sony rolled out PS Plus Deluxe in Asian territories (they don’t have cloud streaming in Asia), subscribers noticed that they got the 50Hz PAL versions of the games. However, North American subscribers will get the 60Hz version, which means that the classic titles will run better and more smoothly for those in the United States. All three PS Plus tiers are live in North America at the moment. So, if you haven’t booted up your PlayStation 4 or 5 yet, we suggest doing so right away. Sony has surprises in store for those who aren’t afraid to spend big on their PS Plus subscriptions, adding unannounced games to its presumed-to-be expanding library like Resident Evil: Director’s Cut, among others. In other news, Microsoft just one-upped Sony with the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase. Still, the June 2 State of Play was no slouch, as it revealed a handful of upcoming games such as Resident Evil 4 Remake and Marvel’s Spider-Man for the PC. Fingers crossed, the rumors of a State of Play event before June ends are true, which is probably when we’ll hear more about God of War: Ragnarok.
