PlayStation Plus vs. Xbox Game Pass.Both Sony and Microsoft have decided to offer a Netflix subscription for gamers. You pay a monthly fee and get access to thousands of games on your PlayStation or Xbox console. In fact, both PlayStation Plus and Xbox Game Pass let you choose from a library of games so vast that it will take you months, if not years, to fully explore them.PlayStation Plus and Game Pass have different advantages and disadvantages. In this article, we will cover them all to make it easier for you to choose which one to choose if you also cannot decide which console to buy. Some aspects of the two services are different and you should be fully aware of where you are investing your money.
PlayStation Plus
Sony’s first form of subscription service was known as Sony Now and came out in 2015. This separate subscription allowed users to stream hundreds of Sony games, old and new. But in June 2022, Sony decided to change its subscription service and expand it to three tiers. The new subscription plan is called PlayStation Plus and the tiers are Essential, Extra and Premium.The Essential PS Plus plan gives you one PS5 game and two PS4 games every month. But you do have access to online multiplayer and cloud storage. With it, you will have exclusive discounts on all games available for the Sony PlayStation console. The PS Plus Extra plan gives you access to a catalog of over 400 PS5 and PS4 games, all available for download. This plan includes Ubisoft+ Classic games, so you can play some of Ubisoft’s most famous games at no extra cost.The PS Plus Premium plan is a combination of core and premium tiers and more. You will be able to stream and download PS5 and PS4 games, as well as stream only PS3 games. The catalog is expanding with games for PS1, PS2 and PSP, adding over 340 titles to an existing library of over 400 games. Ubisoft+ Classic games are also included.You will need an internet connection to stream PS Plus Premium games. Sony recommends at least 5 Mbps to keep your streaming smooth. Use the streaming service only if you don’t want to download the game. The only downside is that you can expect some lag and sudden frame rate drops.
Xbox Game Pass
Xbox Game Pass from Microsoft is available for Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. But you can also get Game Pass for PC if you have Windows 10 or 11. Until recently, Game Pass games were only available for download. But Microsoft has decided to offer its users a streaming service so you don’t have to fill your storage with the games you want to try out. However, if you want to play online games, you’ll need Xbox Live Gold or Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. Unlike PS Plus, Xbox Game Pass doesn’t have levels, and it’s a pretty basic service. All games of any Xbox generation will be automatically available to you, and you can download and play any number of games. That is, as long as you have enough space on your Xbox console.To keep your Xbox Game Pass subscription valid, you must sign up for Xbox Live at least once every 30 days. Some games will leave Xbox Game Pass, others will join it. Unfortunately, you can’t predict what games will be in the Xbox catalog. However, as a subscriber, you receive a discount on the purchase of any game from the catalog or DLC for any game.
PlayStation Plus Vs Xbox Game Pass Pricing and Plans
PlayStation Plus and Xbox Game Pass plans start at $10 per month. However, since PS Plus has three different tiers, the price of each one is slightly different. PS Plus also allows you to pay monthly, quarterly or yearly. Compare prices in the table below:
</table >Xbox Game Pass for console and PC is only $10 per month. You have access to the entire Xbox game library and you can download any game you want. But you can’t stream games. To stream, you’ll need Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which costs $15 per month.We explained the plans for PlayStation Plus in the section above. Essential, which is the basic plan, costs $10 a month and gives you three downloadable games and access to online multiplayer support. For $15, you can upgrade to PS Plus Extra and get access to the entire Sony PlayStation game library. However, to stream games, you’ll have to pay $18 per month for a PS Plus Premium subscription.PlayStation Plus Vs Xbox Game Pass Game LibraryThe whole idea behind PlayStation Plus and Xbox Game Pass is to give users access to a Netflix-like library of content. In this case, the content is the games that you can download or stream, depending on the plan you choose. Both platforms have extensive video game libraries, but they have different approaches to maintaining their catalogs and how they add new titles.While Sony waits several months to add the latest games to its PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium tiers, Microsoft adds new games to its Xbox Game Pass on the day they are released. This is very important if you enjoy playing the latest games as soon as they are released. On the other hand, if indie games are your thing, you’ll be happy to hear that Sony is adding these games to all of its PS Plus plans on day one. Both service providers also collaborated with various game studios and offered their games. For example, if you love EA games and their titles like Need for Speed, The Sims or Star Wars, you can use Xbox Game Pass because you can play them on your Xbox console. Microsoft is also partnering with Riot and you can use their Game Pass for PC to play League of Legends. On the other hand, Sony has partnered with Ubisoft and their catalog as well as the list of Ubisoft+ Classic games are available through the PlayStation console. If you like Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and the Tom Clancy franchise, you can choose PS Plus.Not all games are permanently available in the Microsoft or Sony game catalogs. It depends on the publisher. For sure, all original games developed and published by Microsoft or Sony will forever remain in the catalog. But games made by third-party developers will fall out of the catalogs. This is especially true for new games, which have a set time frame in which they will be available. Classic native games tend to remain available all the time.
However, here are some of the most popular and successful games available on every console subscription service.Most Popular PS Plus Games
- God of War
- Horizon Forbidden West </ li >
- Doom Eternal
- Final Fantasy 16
- Spider-Man
- Death Stranding
- Red Dead Redemption II </li >
- Assassin’s Creed Franchise
Most Played Xbox Game Pass Games
- Halo: The Master Chief Collection
- Ghostwire: Tokyo
- Minecraft Legends
- Goat Simulator
- Watch Dogs 2
- Among Us
- Forza Horizon 5
- Mass Effect
PlayStation Plus Vs Xbox Game Pass Game StreamingGame streaming or cloud gaming is supported with Xbox Game Pass Ultra and PlayStation Plus Premium subscriptions. You can use this feature to stream games on your console or other devices if you don’t have an Xbox or PlayStation.Xbox Cloud Gaming with Game Pass Ultra lets you stream games to Xbox consoles, PCs, tablets, smartphones, and select Samsung smart TVs. Some games are even optimized for touch screens so you don’t need to use a controller to play them on mobile devices. PlayStation Plus Premium only offers streaming on PS5 and PS4 consoles and PC. There is currently no option for direct streaming to smartphones or TVs. Games that have been specially developed for the PlayStation 5 cannot be streamed yet. However, you can always download these titles to your PS5 host console and then stream them to your PC, Mac, iOS and Android devices.The advantage of the PS Plus Premium plan is the Play Share feature. Use it to share your screen with online friends and play games together as if you were in the same room. Xbox Game Pass does not offer this or a similar feature.PlayStation Plus Vs Xbox Game Pass VerdictFor now, Xbox Game Pass is outperforming PlayStation Plus, but PlayStation Plus is catching up and offering some nice perks for its subscription service. Getting premium games and releasing them on the same day is a huge plus for Xbox Game Pass.While both Sony and Microsoft offer their game subscription plans for PC, Xbox does the same with smartphones and allows mobile users to enjoy some of their games without ever having to worry about a controller. Sony has yet to expand its offering of exclusive high-profile games and device support.
While the Xbox Game Pass is more value for money, that’s only because it’s been on the market for a lot longer and has had development time. Over time, Sony will catch up, and is already catching up fast enough. You can already spend thousands of hours with a PS Plus subscription.However, the final choice will depend on the games you want to play. Explore the full Sony PlayStation Plus and Xbox Game Pass libraries from Microsoft and find the games you want to play. It’s worth noting in this area that the PlayStation Plus catalog is larger than the Xbox Game Pass catalog, and Sony has some of the most compelling and award-winning games that are exclusive to the PlayStation console.PlayStation Plus vs. Xbox Game Pass
PlayStation Plus vs. Xbox Game Pass
Xbox Game Pass for Console | $10/month | PlayStation Plus Essential | $10/month, $25/quarter, $60/year</td > |
Xbox Game Pass for PC | $10/month | PlayStation Plus Extra | $15/month, $40/quarter, $100/year |
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate | $15/month | PlayStation Plus Premium | $18/month, $50/quarter, $120/year |