The rebranding and relaunch of PlayStation Plus didn’t go smoothly. The service, required for almost every multiplayer game on the PlayStation 4 and 5, has lost two million paid subscribers, according to Sony. Under the new scheme, the company did increase PS Plus revenue in the first quarter, but only by 10%.
In other words, while some PlayStation fans left and may have bought new Extra or Premium subscriptions, PS Plus retained the majority of users in 2022. Even though Sony has removed premieres from the updated PlayStation Plus (Microsoft, on the other hand, has been steadily promoting new games in Xbox Game Pass), Sony’s subscription free game offerings still look like the best of its kind.
The average Metacritic score for the PlayStation Plus Essential games collection, which is used to judge the quality of the catalog, was 78 – four points higher than in 2021. The PlayStation Plus service did not disappoint subscribers, offering games that appear in other premium services. In 2022, only 10 of them can be found on Xbox Game Pass, down from 14 a year ago. Five of the games listed are owned by Electronic Arts, whose EA Play library is available to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers.
The ten PlayStation Plus Essential games from 2022 can also be found in the new PlayStation Plus Extra library. This is somewhat disappointing for higher-end PS Plus subscribers, with those paying less actually getting 10 Premium games at no extra cost – including big-name titles like 2018’s God of War.
The PlayStation Plus Essential subscription, known as the Instant Game Collection until June in 2022, includes 37 games with an average score of 78 on Metacritic and a total value of $1,304.63 (when purchased individually).
A high score on Metacritic is a significant success compared to 2021. The total retail value of games became less than the cost of less: in 2021 it was $1,424.60, while subscribers were offered n 40 games. The average price of a PlayStation Plus Essential game in the PlayStation Store is almost the same as last year at $35.
It suggests an interesting conclusion: Sony’s bundle is the most valuable to gamers at the lowest subscription level, while Xbox has made the most attractive at the highest. It might not please Sony executives, but subscribers will. Or maybe it was intended that way?
Polygon has compiled a detailed monthly report on the arrival of games on PlayStation Plus Essential in 2022, which gives an idea of the quality and development of the subscription. In Ukraine, the minimum subscription to PS Plus costs UAH 209. per month, 549 UAH. for three months or UAH 1,299. for a year.
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