What Is PlayStation Plus?

How much is PlayStation plus in 2023, and is Sony's game pass still worth getting?

Over the years, gaming has skyrocketed in popularity. As a consequence, the biggest tech companies in the world have introduced subscriptions that have given players access to a wide arrangement of titles for a monthly price. That said, not all game passes are created equal, with some services offering faster access to newer games than others.

Recently, Microsoft came out with their all-new console game pass for the Xbox. Simply called the “Xbox Game Pass”, the online service lets you download a wide assortment of games not only for the game console but also for your Windows 10 devices.  On top of that, Xbox Game Pass also sells a number of games at lower prices, if they weren't already available for free.

Knowing this, it's only natural to look at it's main competitor Sony and their game pass, the PlayStation Plus (a.k.a. PS+), to see if they have the same/better perks. Needless to say, there are more than a few key differences, so we did all the research for you.

Here's our comprehensive guide on everything you need to know about PlayStation Plus, things you might want to know, as well as the biggest road bumps you're likely to encounter.

What is PlayStation Plus

PlayStation Plus (or PS+) is PlayStation's premium subscription gaming service which offers hundreds of games to download and play. It was first introduced in 2010 as the avenue for online play during the reign of the PS3. Now, it's catalogue of fun games has stood for more than a decade, with big game offerings that change at the start of every month.

PlayStation owners with PS+ will be able to enjoy a wide range of benefits. Besides getting to play online with millions of Sony console gamers, the PS game pass lets you download a ton of free games for keeps. From 1st-party to 3rd-party; indie breakouts and triple-A installments, you also get to play last-gen classics on your PlayStation. More than that, PlayStation Plus also gives you exclusive discounts to some of the best games this year, cloud streaming and Share Play, a mode which lets two PS+ members share each other's screens and play on separate consoles.

How Much is PlayStation Plus

PS+ has multiple tiers, namely Essential, Extra and Premium. As you might expect, each tier offers a variety of perks for different price tags.

PlayStation Plus Essential 

• $9.99/month
• $24.99/3 months
• $59.99/year

Essential provides the core PS+ experience for PS4 and PS5 gamers. The basic subscription includes everything you'd expect from PlayStation Plus, including online play, free games, lower prices for certain releases in the shop and cloud storage for your precious save files.

PlayStation Plus Extra

• $14.99/month
• $39.99/3 months
• $99.99/year

PlayStation Extra adds a few more perks on top of the regular PlayStation Plus experience. The tier 2 subscription gives you more games to download, making it the perfect choice for people with brand new consoles. Extra also gives you a ton of Ubisoft games to download and play. If you want to dive into PlayStation-exclusive titles and have all the exclusive features at your fingertips, Extra will give you everything you need plus more.

PlayStation Plus Premium

• $19.99/month
• $49.99/3 months
• $119.99/year

PlayStation Plus Premium gives you the best that Sony's game pass can offer. Together with all of the features from the lower tiers, Premium gives you access to over 700 PlayStation titles. Among them belong to the classic catalog, which holds hundreds of backward-compatible games from the PS1 and PS2. Premium players can also use cloud streaming to play PS3 games either on their console or on their PCs (except for Premium's alternative version “Deluxe”). Lastly, you'll be able to play trial versions of the games you're interested in purchasing.

How Do I Get PlayStation Plus for Free

Free trials for Playstation Plus are available in select regions, letting you try out the benefits for a limited time. At present, only users from the United Kingdom, India and Canada are eligible for the 7-day free trial, which rolls into recurring payments afterwards. Here's how you can try out PS+ for free.

Step 1: Log in to your PlayStation 4/5 with a brand-new email

Step 2: Select PS Plus on the home screen

Step 3: Select “Subscribe” and go for the specific tier you want to try out

How Do I Share My PlayStation Plus

Sharing you PlayStation Plus benefits is possible, but how it looks depends on whether or not you own a PS4 or a PS5. PlayStation's official tech support webpage makes the difference between the two quite clear.

PS4 owners share the perks of their Plus subscription by assigning their primary PS4 console. Doing so will allow you to do all sorts of cool stuff with your platform. These include automatic downloads for content you pre-order on the store and Remote Play, a feature which lets you play games installed on your primary using a friend's console!

How to Activate Primary PS4

Step 1: Go to Settings

Step 2: Select Account Management

Step 3: Activate as Your Primary PlayStation 4

PS5 PlayStation Plus sharing is basically the same, but is called “Console Sharing and Offline Play”. Users will be able to access PS+ benefits and play each other's PS4/PS5 games, even when the PS5 if offline. This is enabled by default, but may need to be turned off for it to work.

How to Enable PS5 Console Sharing

Step 1: Go to Settings

Step 2: Select Users and Accounts

Step 3: Others

Step 4: Enable/Disable Console Sharing and Offline Play

Why Cant I Buy PlayStation Plus

There are a few reasons why your purchase may not be able to push through. The most common case involves an unclickable “Confirm Purchase” button. This is believed to be a problem with PlayStation having difficulties with charging certain debit/credit cards. The easy fix is adding funds to your PS Wallet, which you can then use to checkout your PlayStation Plus membership plan.

The “Something went wrong” error can be troubleshooted by completely logging out of your account and then logging back in, reconnecting with the servers and potentially solving the problem.

And finally, free trial errors. These are possibly due to the free trial already being used, but just in case, restore your PlayStation's license to see if that fixes the problem.

Step 1: Go to Settings

Step 2: Account Management

Step 3: Restore Licenses on your PS4 system

How Do I Cancel Playstation Plus

Here's how you cancel PlayStation Plus on your PS4/PS5:

Step 1: Go to Settings > Users and Accounts.
Step 2: Select Account > Payment and Subscriptions > Subscriptions > PlayStation Plus.
Step 3: Select Cancel Subscription.

And that's about it. All in all, PlayStation Plus is a neat choice if you want to enjoy the top-selling platform's wide array of game offerings, cool discounts and (if you're feeling nostalgic) full access to the classics catalog. Despite them delaying certain must-have titles from their selection, Sony's business tactic actually hasn't impeded their success. They know their audience well. More than that, they know that sharing fond memories makes the gaming even more of an experience.

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