Sony's Game Pass Rival For PlayStation Will Merge Current Services

Prior to the PS5’s release Sony was rumored to be working on a rival to Game Pass for its PlayStation platform. Today, a new report from Bloomberg offers up more details on what that service will look like. In addition to stating that Sony does indeed have a Game Pass rival for PlayStation that’s on the way, codenamed Spartacus.

The upcoming service, which itself does not yet have an official name, will merge two of the currently available services that players are already familiar with. PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now. According to the report, Sony plans to offer a new subscription service that will combine both of these into one package. Set at a new price with three available subscription tiers.

Sony is expected to release the new service for both PS4 and PS5 console generations. Additionally, it will offer players a collection of new and classic games for a single monthly fee.

The PlayStation Game Pass rival ‘Spartacus’ is set to release in 2022

Game Pass has been around for some time now and offers gamers some pretty incredible value. Boasting a growing and everchanging catalog of games that are playable across console, PC, and cloud. Sony has yet to really offer anything that truly competes with it. Though, that seems to finally be changing.

Spartacus is said to be releasing sometime in the Spring of 2022. Sony has not confirmed this release window and even if it’s accurate, the release window could always change.

Sony is also planning to phase out the PlayStation Now branding with the launch of this service. While keeping PlayStation Plus.

There are three tiers for Spartacus

When Spartacus launches, subscribers will reportedly get to choose from three different tiers. Prices have not yet been mentioned. But there are details on what each tier will include. The first tier, which will be the least expensive, sounds like it’ll be just what PS Plus is now.

The second tier will bump things up by including PS4 and PS5 titles for the monthly fee in addition to the PS Plus free monthly games, discounts, and online multiplayer feature. The third tier will add further value by tossing in classic games from PS1, PS2, PS3, and PSP. In addition to extended demos and game streaming.

On top of all that, Sony is reportedly investing more time and money into cloud gaming. Though how it will improve or differ from PlayStation Now is not currently known.