The service currently known as Spartacus will be launched by Sony this week, an answer to Xbox Game Pass. This comes from a report from Bloomberg, which claims the service is ready for prime time. As we reported earlier, Spartacus will most likely be a combination of Sony’s two current subscription services, PlayStation Plus, and PlayStation Now. Bloomberg also claims that it will include several popular, recently launched games. Xbox Game Pass’ biggest strength is the availability of AAA-games on launch day, but it still remains to be seen if Sony will emulate this.
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The service is expected to have three different tiers, which will offer different games at different price points. One tier is expected to be very similar to the current PlayStation Plus subscription, while subsequent tiers would add PS4 and PS5 games (though the latter are expected to come “in the future”), as well as “access to extended demos and the ability to stream games over the internet,” according to Bloomberg. Previous reports also said that the highest tier could include a library of classic games from systems like the PS2 and PSP.
PlayStation Plus grants access to multiplayer gaming, some discounts, and a few free games a month. PlayStation Now lets you play a back catalog of select PS4, PS3, and PS2 games either via cloud gaming or a download (which options are available depends on the specific title). Combining these services into a single subscription could offer more value to customers, but it still doesn’t compare – at least in my opinion – to Xbox Game Pass, especially taking into account the massive acquisitions Microsoft has made recently. All these game developers’ and publishers’ games is expected to launch on Game Pass on launch date. Unless Sony changes something with the new service, it still won’t entice more customers to the subscription.
We also have no indication of pricing at the moment. One thing is for sure, though – if Sony just combines the two services and combines its pricing, it won’t be successful.
