Sony has been planning to take aim at Xbox Game Pass with its own game streaming service, which is said to be much more affordable and feature a wider variety of games. The company is said to be in talks with several game publishers and developers about the new service, which is expected to launch in 2019. Xbox Game Pass was created as an attempt to compete with Netflix and other streaming services that offer a wider variety of games and movies. It has been successful in doing so, but Sony’s plan seems to be much more ambitious. The company is said to want Game Pass to be the go-to service for gamers who want the latest games and movies without having to worry about spending money on other things. The new service will likely have a lower price point than Xbox Game Pass, but it will also feature a wider variety of games. It is not clear yet how much money Sony will need to spend in order for this service to be successful, but it seems like the company is serious about trying something new.
According to a report from Bloomberg, Sony’s Game Pass competitor is codenamed “Spartacus,” and it will offer a catalog of modern and classic games for a monthly subscription.
That sounds a lot like Microsoft’s pitch for Xbox Game Pass. However, the report didn’t indicate whether Sony would offer new releases on day one, which is one of the major selling points of Microsoft’s subscription service. It’s hard to beat getting new AAA games on the day they release without spending anything other than a subscription fee.
The report says the new subscription will merge Sony’s PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now into a single option, but with the additional catalog of games included. However, it looks like the PlayStation Plus name will stick around, and PlayStation Now will be phased out.
Additionally, it looks like the service will come to both PS4 and PS5, so gamers will be able to take part whether they’ve been able to find a PS5 or not.
As it’s still early—the subscription isn’t expected to launch until Spring 2022—we don’t know how much it’ll cost. Microsoft charges $14.99 for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which also brings games to PC, and $9.99 for just Xbox, so we’d expect it to be somewhere in that same price range.
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