According to a report from Bloomberg, Sony’s working on a service to rival Xbox Game Pass. You can go ahead and file this under the “it was a bad idea until we decided to do it” category.

Known internally within Sony as “Spartacus,” subscribers will pay a monthly fee to access a catalog of modern and classic titles. The targetted launch for the service is Spring 2022 and Sony plans to merge its two existing services, PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now, into one.

According to Bloomberg, Sony plans to break the service into three tiers, which doesn’t seem like the wisest decision, but things may change between now and launch. The first tier will include essentially what is PlayStation Plus. The second tier will include access to a catalog of PS4 and PS5 titles. The third tier will include demos, game streaming, and a back catalog of classic PS1, PS2, PS3, and PSP games.

Sony has a long way to go to compete with Microsoft in the subscription service arena. Xbox Game Pass is wildly successful and Microsoft is all-in on the service, releasing first-party titles day and date of release. Not to mention, Microsoft has been on a bit of a spending spree, acquiring publishers to bolster their internally produced exclusive titles. There is no word whether Sony plans to include their impressive internally produced exclusives day and date like God of War, Last of Us, Horizon, etc…, but I doubt it.

Competition spurs creativity, so the outcome will only be good for gamers.

[Source: Bloomberg]