Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. News

Check your wallet: PlayStation Plus price hike hits North America in September

By

playstation plus price hike sept 2016 ps4 2 640x0
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Sony is increasing the cost of its PlayStation Plus membership program in the United States and Canada for the first time since the service’s launch in 2010, and members can expect to see higher renewal prices as early as next month.

Starting on September 22, PlayStation console owners re-upping their subscription to PlayStation Plus can expect to pay $60 for 12 months of service — an increase of $10 over the program’s former annual fee. Three-month PlayStation Plus subscriptions will also see a price increase from $20 to $25, while month-to-month renewals will remain a flat $10 fee.

“This marks the first time that PS Plus membership prices will increase in the U.S. and Canada since the launch of the service in 2010,” Sony said in a statement released today. “The new pricing reflects the current market conditions while enabling us to continue providing exceptional value to our members.”

Related

At the time of this writing, Sony has not outlined any improvements or new features it has in store for PlayStation Plus members to justify the increase in price.

“As a member, you will continue to enjoy the benefits and features that enable shared experiences, such as online multiplayer, free games, and exclusive discounts,” the company stated. “You will also continue to get exclusive benefits such as online game save storage and discounts across the PlayStation digital services.”

PlayStation Plus is a subscription-based program that grants members access to free digital PlayStation 4, PS3, and PS Vita games on a monthly basis. Online multiplayer features for PlayStation 4 games also require an active enrollment in the PlayStation Plus program.

Sony launched PlayStation Plus in 2010 as an equivalent to Microsoft’s Xbox Live Gold subscription service, which grants access to online multiplayer via Xbox Live. After upping Xbox Live subscription fees in 2010, Microsoft started offering faithful members additional incentives and monthly bonuses, including free digital games for the Xbox 360 and Xbox One.

PlayStation Plus members who do not agree with Sony’s updated pricing can disable auto-renewal in their PlayStation Network account settings before September 22 to avoid being charged at the new quarterly and annual rates.

Editors’ Recommendations

Topics
Danny Cowan
Danny Cowan
Contributor
Danny’s passion for video games was ignited upon his first encounter with Nintendo’s Duck Hunt, and years later, he still…
Astro Bot will reference one of PlayStation’s oldest memes
Astro Bot and its PlayStation character cameos, which include Aloy and Nathan Drake on the right.

The Astro Bot series is known for showcasing PlayStation history, with some incredible deep cuts and cameos. For the upcoming Astro Bot, which was officially announced during Sony's latest State of Play this week, that apparently comes in the form of a nearly 20-year-old meme.

In an interview with EW, Team Asobi head Nicolas Doucet mentioned some of the characters that players will encounter spread throughout the game's 80 planets. This includes some obvious inclusions, like Nathan Drake from the Uncharted franchise and Aloy from the Horizon games, but snuck into one of the paragraphs is mention of an island in the shape of a giant crab.

Read more
PlayStation Days of Play sale: the best deals that you don’t want to miss
Cloud,. Aerith, and Tifa stand together in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.

It's summer, which means it's time to stock up on video games. Thankfully, you'll have a lot of chances to do that without breaking the bank this year as June tends to be a big month for game sales. Sony is kicking off that trend a few days early with its annual Days of Play sale, which offers some major discounts on everything from recent hits to new releases.

This year's sale includes over 900 games, and there are a lot of great options. Of course, who wants to spend time scrolling through 39 pages of discounts? I'm here to help save you the trouble so you can spend more time gaming. I combed through every deal and picked out eight in particular that stand out. These range from fairly new releases to under-the-radar games that are a steal. If you don't already own these games, consider picking them all up. It'll cost you less than $200 to do so!
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth -- $53

Read more
PlayStation State of Play returns this week, will feature 14 PS5 games
Three colorful PS5s float together in a line.

PlayStation will kick off the summer of digital video game reveal streams this week with a State of Play broadcast. The stream will take place at 3 p.m. PT on Thursday, May 30.

State of Play is one of Sony's primary livestream presentation formats. It tends to be slightly shorter than the company's flagship stream, the PlayStation Showcase. This State of Play is a significant one, though, as Sony's slate of first-party games for 2024 is entirely unknown at this stage. This stream should shed some light on what's coming later this year.

Read more