If you’ve just gotten your hands on a PlayStation 5, you’re probably hungry to devour a whole new world of next-gen games and Sony exclusives. It’s hard to choose which games to grab, so you don’t spend your last penny. If this is your dilemma, you are going to want to consult a PlayStation Plus Membership. That said, the service was revamped last year, and now there are three different tiers that will give you access to online play, exclusive discounts, and a huge library of free games, so you don’t have to lingering in decision paralysis on which game to get or break the bank trying to play them all.
Deals have been pretty hard to come by since the revamp. As Sony offered the first direct discount we’ve seen on new PS Plus subscriptions to its huge Game Day Sale, it has since ended. But there are third-party offers you can take advantage of right now. Below, we’ve explained how the new PS Plus subscriptions work, as well as the best ways to sign up for less. We’ll continue to update this page as more offers and discounts arrive, so be sure to check back often. And for even more savings, you can check out our roundup of the best deals at PlayStation games, gear and accessories.
Look at this: PlayStation Plus: choosing the best level
What changed ?
Prior to the revamp, PlayStation offered two different subscription services. PlayStation Plus was a $10 per month service similar to Xbox Live Gold that allow you to play online games and participate in multiplayer matches. PlayStation Now was a $10 per month cloud gaming service that gave gamers access to a huge library of classic titles from the PS2, PS3, and PS4. The new PS Plus essentially bundled the two subscriptions into one service with multiple subscription tiers. Three different membership packages are available, combining different features and benefits from the previous two subscriptions.
PS Plus Essential
At $10 per month, $25 for three months or $60 for the year, PlayStation Plus Essential is basically no different from the previous PS Plus subscription. It offers all the same great features, including access to online play, two free monthly games, cloud storage, and exclusive PlayStation Store discounts. If you had a PS Plus subscription before the revamp went live, it was automatically converted to an Essential subscription.
PS Plus Extra
At $15 per month, $40 for three months or $100 for the year, an intermediary Additional PlayStation Plus the subscription is somewhat similar to the Ultimate Game Pass subscription offered to Xbox users. It includes all the benefits and features of an Essential subscription, but also gives you access to a catalog of up to 400 PS4 and PS5 games. The selection includes many hit titles like God of War, Death Stranding and Ghost of Tsushima.
PS Plus Premium
A PlayStation Plus Premium membership is the highest tier available and costs $18 per month, $50 for three months, or $120 for a full year. In addition to all the benefits of an Essential and Extra subscription, it gives you access to a huge library of over 700 games. This includes recent PS4 and PS5 hits from the Extra subscription, but also a catalog of over 300 classics from the PS1, PS2 and PS3 eras (similar to the previous PS Now subscription). It lets you stream multiple of those classic titles, so you don’t have to worry about them eating up your precious storage space. You also have access to time-limited game trials, allowing you to try out new games before committing to a purchase. If you had a PS Now subscription before the redesign went live, it was automatically converted to a PlayStation Plus Premium subscription.
PS Plus offers
Things were pretty chaotic before the revamp, with people racking up discounted subscriptions and racking up hundreds in savings before Sony realized the loophole. It’s been closed for a while now, and we haven’t seen too many opportunities to save on a service since. Sony offered the first direct discounts we saw on new subscriptions during its Days of Play sale, but that’s now over. Luckily, there are still deals on the original PS Plus that you can take advantage of if you’re only interested in the Essential-tier subscription.
CDKeys is one of the only other places you can find savings on Sony game subscriptions right now. This offer is technically for an original pre-redesign PS Plus subscription, which will automatically convert to an Essential subscription. We didn’t get a chance to test this offering ourselves, but several reviewers said they had no issues using any of these older codes. An Essential subscription usually costs $60 for the year, which is already a 50% discount on the price of the monthly plan. But right now, at CD Keys, you can get an annual subscription for $50, which brings the monthly cost down to just over $4. You won’t have access to the massive game library, but you can play online and you’ll receive two free games every month.
