PlayStation Plus Price Hike Announced

Sony has announced price increases for its subscription service, PlayStation Plus.

PlayStation Plus is Sony’s monthly subscription service for PS4 and PS5 consoles that grants access to online multiplayer, monthly downloadable games, and exclusive PlayStation Store discounts.

Starting May 20, PlayStation Plus prices for new customers will increase in select regions, Sony said in its announcement, blaming “ongoing market conditions.” Prices will start at $10.99 USD / €9.99 EUR / £7.99 GBP for 1-month subscriptions and $27.99 USD / €27.99 EUR / £21.99 GBP for three-month subscriptions.

The monthly subscription goes up by $1, and the three-month subscription increases by $3. This price change does not apply to current subscribers (except in Turkey and India) unless the existing subscription changes or lapses, Sony added.

The news comes amid price rises across the video game industry, particularly for hardware. Sony itself raised the price of PS5 consoles back in March, blaming “continued pressures in the global economic landscape.” Earlier this month, Sony said it had yet to decide when to launch the PlayStation 6, nor how much it would cost, as memory shortages fueled by the AI boom continue to hit hard.

As you’d expect, PlayStation fans have reacted negatively to the news, with some saying PlayStation Plus shouldn’t be required for online gaming in the first place, and that these new price rises make gaming on PlayStation even costlier. Others have hit out at Sony blaming the price rises on “ongoing market conditions,” pointing out Microsoft just cut the price of Xbox Game Pass.

It’s worth noting that this PlayStation Plus price hike comes six months before the planned release of GTA 6, which is expected to draw a huge number of newcomers into the current generation of consoles. An active PlayStation Plus subscription is required to play GTA Online, and there’s no suggestion that will change when GTA 6 comes out. Perhaps Sony is getting its price hike in now, mindful that it will gain a flood of new PlayStation Plus subscribers who are only interested in playing GTA 6 online when it comes out.

Sony has forecast annual ‌sales at its gaming business down 6% to 4.42 trillion yen (approx. $28 billion) for the current financial year due to lower hardware sales, with the PS5 now more expensive than ever and approaching its sixth birthday. However, Sony expects gaming profit to rise 30% due to higher first-party software sales, and the absence of a huge impairment loss it recorded against struggling Marathon developer Bungie. Insomniac’s Wolverine game is due out this financial year, and will surely make a significant contribution to Sony’s performance.