DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — Subscribe to PlayStation Plus on your PS4 or PS5, maybe even a PS Vita? Get ready to pay more.
Sony announced Wednesday that it would be raising the annual subscription prices across all three tiers of PS+, starting Sept. 6.
The new prices will be:
- PlayStation Plus Essential: $79.99 (up $20 from $59.99)
- PlayStation Plus Extra: $134.99 (up $35 from $99.99)
- PlayStation Plus Premium: $159.99 (up $40 from $119.99)
For current PS+ annual subscribers, the new price won’t be reflected until your first renewal after Sept. 6. However, if you change your membership tier (for example, going from Essential to Extra) after Sept. 6 but before your renewal date, the new price will take effect.
The timing comes at an awkward time for the PlayStation family. While the PS5 is handily holding off Microsoft’s Xbox Series duo, Sept. 6 also sees the release of “Starfield,” the new Xbox/PC exclusive from Bethesda Game Studios (makers of “Skyrim” and “Fallout 3”).
The PS+ price hikes come a month after Sony reduced the price of the PS5 console to $499.99 for the disc version.
The PlayStation 5’s next major exclusive is “Spider-Man 2,” arriving Oct. 20.
What do the different tiers of PlayStation Plus do?
If you forget which tier does what: Essential is essentially access to online multiplayer, cloud storage for saves and 2-3 free games each month, while Extra also includes an online library of downloadable games and the Ubisoft+ service. Premium goes even further by including cloud streaming of games, game trials and access to a “classics” library of games from earlier generations.
