Sony’s New Subscription Aims to Take on Xbox Game Pass

The videogame unit of Sony is expanding its subscription options as part of an industrywide trend to keep the players to specific hardware, franchises and apps.

Starting in June, Sony announced that it will begin integrating its cloud gaming service, PlayStation Now, into its online multiplayer service, PlayStation Plus, for console customers. The new service comes in multiple variations with monthly, quarterly, and annual pricing options for each. The current services combined have more than 50 million subscribers.

Sony and Microsoft consider cloud gaming to be the future of game distribution. The new technology would eliminate the need to download games to devices, which takes up memory or invest in dedicated games hardware like consoles and high-end computer systems. 

Amazon, Nvidia, and Alphabet have also launched subscription-based cloud gaming services in recent years. Meta has also started adding free cloud-based games to its Facebook Gaming platform in 2020.

Sony has been growing its game-development teams. It has recently acquired Bungie Inc for $3.6 billion and Haven Studios for an undisclosed amount. Microsoft has also announced its plan to purchase Activision Blizzard Inc in a deal valued at around $75 billion. 

Sony's new move in the subscription space is essentially a way to streamline previous offerings and potentially give a boost to its recurring revenue stream, said Carolina Milanesi, an analyst at Creative Strategies Inc, a market intelligence consulting firm. "From a branding perspective, it was a bit confusing," she said of the company's two previous subscription models.