Sarah Bond, an Xbox exec, said in a GDC presentation that Sony has revealed their subscription, which may be a slip or a confirmation of that merger of PS Plus and PS Now: Project Spartacus.
Xbox appears to know something that other firms don’t, regarding Sony’s ambitions. Or perhaps it was a misunderstanding by Microsoft’s top executives. The Xbox network, Game Pass, and how and where people play have all been highlighted at a postponed conference for the Game Developers Conference 2022 (GDC).
Microsoft’s corporate vice president of subscription services, Sarah Bond, made a point to mention Sony’s rumored Project Spartacus during a talk on subscription services.
“[Subscriptions] have lowered the barrier for entry and created a whole new market and love for games and gaming experiences that otherwise wouldn’t have existed.
It’s one of the reasons why I’m excited to see gaming become a bigger part of our industry: we have our subscriptions, Sony’s announced theirs, and I anticipate other platforms are going to do the same because it’s so, so good for both developers and players.”
– Sarah Bond, Xbox Corporate Vice President
Project Spartacus
For the time being, Sony has not confirmed a new membership, contrary to what Bond claims. But both PlayStation Now and PlayStation Plus have been in existence for a long time now.
Even if there was a mistake, the talk was not live. It is plausible that Xbox executives know elements of Sony’s projects, which as per info from different sources go through a combination of PS Plus and PS Now that will unveil this spring.
Last December, Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier reported Project Spartacus.
- At the time, the plans had a subscription structure with three tiers. The first option would be comparable to the present PS Plus program (online games, monthly games, etc.).
- The second, more costly option would provide access to a library of PS4 (and, eventually, PS5) titles.
- The most expensive tier, the third, would include cloud play, longer demos, and a catalog of PSX, PS2, PSP, and PS3 titles.
This new service, expected in the spring, will likely retain the "PlayStation Plus" branding. Don't expect Sony to include its big new games day one like Game Pass does, but the expectation is a stronger offering than PlayStation Now
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) December 3, 2021
Sony is expected to make an announcement about its next product in the spring, according to rumors. In February, VentureBeat and GiantBomb journalist Jeff Grubb supported Schreier’s assertions, noting that the debut of Project Spartacus was imminent.
Price points were also established at 10, 13, and 16 dollars each. Sony hasn’t explained why some PS Plus and PS Now members had their subscriptions merged earlier this month, while others saw their PS Now subscriptions swapped by PS Plus subscriptions.
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