With new game prices rising to over $70, console gamers are more than ever using subscription services, offering hundreds of titles, monthly bonus games, and online multiplayer access. Sony’s subscription game service, PlayStation Plus, has been available to players for the past thirteen years. But despite its new features and subscription tiers, the game service has lost subscribers.
According to data presented by Safe Betting Sites, PlayStation Plus lost 1.6 million subscribers last year.
The First Big Drop Since PlayStation Plus Launch
Sony’s PlayStation Plus subscription game service, initially created to sell online gaming access, went through a significant change in June last year. Still called PS Plus, it has now become Sony’s version of Xbox Game Pass, offering three subscription models.
The existing service became PlayStation Plus Essential, while higher-priced tiers, PlayStation Plus Extra and PlayStation Plus Premium, add access to downloadable and streamable titles previously available under PlayStation Now.
But despite the rebranding and relaunch, the number of subscribers significantly dropped for the first time since the PlayStation Plus launch.
According to Statista and Sony data, PlayStation Plus had 7.9 million subscribers four years after its release. By December 2018, this figure quadrupled to 34.2 million and continued rising. In June 2020, PlayStation Plus had 45 million subscribers; a year and a half later, this figure hit an all-time high of 48 million. However, after remaining around 47 million in the first half of 2022, the number of subscribers significantly dropped.
Three months after the launch of its new features, in September 2022, PlayStation Plus had 45 million users, three million down from an all-time peak. Although this figure rose to 46.4 million by the end of the year, statistics show the number of subscribers dropped to 2020 levels.
Retail Value of PlayStation Plus Essential Games Down by 8.5% Year-over-Year
Besides online multiplayer access, PS Plus members also have early access to upcoming games and discounts on PlayStation Store items. However, the total value of offered gaming titles also dropped in 2022.
Last year, PlayStation Plus Essential subscribers were offered $1,304 worth of free video games, down from $1,424 a year before that.
This represents a second decline after a sharp fall in 2019 and 2020 when the service offered $895 and $780 worth of games.
