PlayStation’s rival to Xbox Game Pass, Project Spartacus is reported “pretty close” to launching. The initiative is expected to bring first and third-party titles to the PlayStation ecosystem on a subscription-based model.
Last December, Bloomberg reported that Sony is looking to create a new service that allows PS owners to pay a monthly fee and gain access to a catalogue of modern and classic games. The service was expected to launch sometime in spring 2022, which seems to be the case.
As confirmed by VentureBeat’s Jeff Grubb on his YouTube show Grubbsnax, Project Spartacus could launch by the end of this month. According to him, the service will retain the Playstation Plus branding, and divide the service into three tiers – Essential, Extra, and Premium – priced at $10 (Rs 750), $13 (Rs 975), and $16 (Rs 1200) respectively.
As per the initial report by Bloomberg, the base, Essential tier will essentially be the PlayStation Plus service, as it is today – allowing for online multiplayer and offering monthly games to users. The Extra tier, however, functions more like the Game Pass, offering around 300 downloadable titles that get disabled once the service expires.
The Premium tier is reported to give subscribers access to “classic games” and cloud streaming in addition to the aforementioned perks. Although Jeff is unsure of what the term “classic games” entails, the Bloomberg report had confirmed that it features a roster of games from previous PlayStation eras such as the PS1, PS2, and PS3, alongside demos which are difficult to obtain outside the service – digitally.
It is worth noting that Sony has not confirmed or denied any of these claims, but in a November interview with TASS, President Jim Ryan was asked about how Sony will respond to Microsoft’s Game Pass. He responded by saying, “There is actually news to come, but just not today. We have PlayStation Now which is our subscription service, and that is available in a number of markets.”
Last week, Sony showed off its upcoming next-gen VR headset, the PlayStation VR 2, featuring a similar colour scheme as the PS5 and an “orb” look to the controllers. You can read more on that here.