With the introduction of PS Plus Extra and Premium tiers, revisiting classics and uncovering new favorites is a breeze. We’re still in awe that the underrated PSP game Pursuit Force is on there. Sony is never one to shy away from sharing the positives of its PS4 and PS5 subscription service, but following a recent earnings call, a new PS Plus update surrounding its members fails to show up again.
With some of the best PS5 games readily available, PS Plus‘s subscription tier overhaul seems well positioned for a rise in memberships. Despite a Sony earnings call on Thursday, November 9, 2023, word of PS Plus making solid upward progress remains unmentioned. While the successes of Spider-Man 2 sales are a highlight, Sony’s focus on PS Plus pivots toward expanding the service’s features.
“By continuing to offer attractive new features and content to our users, such as starting cloud streaming of PS5 titles […] we aim to increase engagement while further expanding the composition ratio of our top-tier services Extra and Premium,” Sony explains. Though PS5 cloud streaming is handy, its lack of integration with the upcoming PlayStation Portal handheld is concerning. Furthermore, it is possible that a lack of subscriber count information is down to the recent PS Plus price increase, which could be a dividing line for many players.
However, the report does clarify that more players are active every month on their PlayStation console, rising from last year: “The overall number of monthly active users for PlayStation in September was 107 million accounts, an increase of 5 million from the same month last year, and the proportion of PS5 users, who have high user engagement, increased to a little over 40% of the total.”
According to Statista, which dates its recordings up to March this year, PS Plus memberships climbed to 47.4 million, a noticeable increase from a decline in September 2022. Memberships dropped to 45.4 million at that time, which is the lowest fall since June 2021 (46.3 million). PS Plus originally launched in 2010, and at its peak, 48 million subscriptions were active, sampling many of the free PS Plus games available.
However, despite better access to new PS5 games, the recent batch of titles is proving to be lackluster with players. In some cases, users are receiving previous PS Plus games again, without explanation. Nevertheless, you can check out all the PS Plus Extra and Premium games for yourself thanks to our handy guide, as you might just find a worthwhile adventure.