Why I’m not upgrading my PlayStation Plus subscription

(Image credit: Miguel Lagoa | Shutterstock)

PlayStation Plus is getting a major revamp in June. Sony’s subscription service will offer three pricing tiers tailored for different users. The lowest-priced tier, PlayStation Plus Essential, is the same as the current iteration of PlayStation Plus. PlayStation Plus Extra and PlayStation Plus Premium are effectively PlayStation’s answer to Xbox Game Pass. While the service doesn’t offer first-party games at launch, its collection of more than 700 titles certainly makes it enticing.

Back when I reported on the rumored Project Spartacus, I thought I’d subscribe to the highest-end tier without a second thought. After all, the service would finally combine PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now. If this Project Spartacus offered me both services in one, how could I say no?

Before anyone gets mad, let me explain. I’ve played PlayStation's consoles almost exclusively since the PS2-era. While I haven't played every single title ever released on PlayStation systems, I’ve played a good chunk of the major games. While I love Xbox and PC, PlayStation is my preferred system due to my long history with the brand.

I love legacy series like Ratchet & Clank, Jak & Daxter, Sly Cooper and God of War; not to mention relatively newer franchises like Uncharted, inFAMOUS, Horizon and The Last of Us. Though I have fond memories of those games, there’s little reason for me to return to them.

It’s hard justifying playing older games when there are so many new ones to keep on top of. The first God of War is my favorite entry in the franchise, but am I really going to play that over the upcoming God of War: Ragnarok? I know that question may sound ridiculous, but when you’re a working adult — especially one that covers video games for a living — you have to prioritize the limited amount of time you have in a day. If I only have a couple of hours available to me per week, I’m using them to play Elden Ring, not Uncharted 2.

The Last of Us HBO show feature — The Last of Us is brilliant but I don't need to replay it or any of the old titles on PlayStation Plus. (Image credit: Sony)

But what about PlayStation Plus Extra? This tier has hundreds of PS4 and PS5 games. That’s awesome, but subscribing to it wouldn’t benefit me either. This tier is more or less a beefed-up version of the PlayStation Plus Collection. That collection contains fantastic titles like Bloodborne, Persona 5, The Last of Us Remastered, Fallout 4 and more.

The problem I had with that collection is that I already own all of the games I was interested in. Because of work and my own tendencies as a gamer, I play games at launch. As such, having access to PS4 and PS5 games already in my collection wouldn’t do me any good. And as I mentioned above, I don’t have time to revisit older titles.

The revamped PlayStation Plus will no doubt be a great service for PlayStation users. It will offer a ton of legacy games and be reasonably priced. I’m sure many will celebrate being able to play classics and the fact that they can share those experiences with others on social media and streaming channels. And while it’s not an exact Xbox Game Pass competitor since it lacks new games at launch and it isn't available on mobile devices, PlayStation Plus has enough to make it worth subscribing to for most gamers.

Still, despite what the new PlayStation Plus tiers offer, they simply aren't for me. As such, I'll stick with the standard PlayStation Plus to continue playing online games and to nab the occasional free monthly PlayStation Plus title. Perhaps things will change if I ever fulfill my secret dream of being a retro gaming YouTuber, but for now, I'll stick with the basic PlayStation Plus.

Tony is a computing writer at Tom’s Guide covering laptops, tablets, Windows, and iOS. During his off-hours, Tony enjoys reading comic books, playing video games, reading speculative fiction novels, and spending too much time on X/Twitter. His non-nerdy pursuits involve attending Hard Rock/Heavy Metal concerts and going to NYC bars with friends and colleagues. His work has appeared in publications such as Laptop Mag, PC Mag, and various independent gaming sites.

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