As revealed by the recent Insomniac leaks, one thing Sony is quite concerned about going forward is the viability and competitiveness of their PlayStation Plus service, which they believe could be one of the things most affected by Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard. So, how does Sony plan to fortify PS Plus against Microsoft and the growing threat from Game Pass? Thus far, Sony has resisted the Game Pass approach of putting first-party titles on PS Plus on Day 1, and it seems that’s not going to change. That said, according to new documents unearthed from the Insomniac leak, they do have some other plans.
Apparently, Sony aims to pursue a “Services 3.0” approach with PS Plus, which aims to make it the “most exciting and desirable entertainment membership service globally.” One major component of this plan is to get PS Plus on more platforms, aside from PS4 and PS5. These platforms could potentially include PC, mobile devices, and streaming platforms like smart TVs, streaming sticks, and even Internet browsers.
The other key part of the plan involves improving the content you get with your subscription, without going to full Day 1 releases. Sony particularly wants to bring in more players of live service games like Fortnite as well as kids and families. The documents also pitch adding more bonus subscriptions to additional services like Disney+, Spotify, and Crunchyroll to boost the overall value of PS Plus subscriptions. PS Plus could even bundle gaming-specific subscriptions to services like GTA+ or Genshin Impact and other Hoyoverse games. Finally, Sony might pursue specific partnerships with Amazon to get PS Plus on Fire TV sticks or even their own Bravia line of smart TVs.
It’s an interesting plan, but I’m not sure it’s enough to combat Game Pass having Day 1 games, including probably Call of Duty at some point. At best, this Services 3.0 approach will keep PS Plus from bleeding too many subscribers once Microsoft really starts taking full advantage of Activision Blizzard.
What do you think? Is there anything Sony can do to make PS Plus more enticing to you, beyond putting the next Spider-Man game on it at launch?
