Sony ended their recent PlayStation 5 showcase with a splash by announcing the PlayStation Plus Collection, a new perk for PlayStation Plus subscribers. It will offer an impressive roster of PS4 games, making all of the games in the collection available to play on the PS5 from the console's launch on November 12th, 2020. It's a move by Sony that could offer some serious competition for the rival Xbox Game Pass program offered by Microsoft.
Xbox Game Pass is a subscription-program that offers a rotating roster of games to members for a monthly fee. Depending on the subscription, members can play these games on Xbox or PC or both. Microsoft recently added their cloud gaming service, Project xCloud, to the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription, at no additional cost. Sony, meanwhile, has had PlayStation Plus, more akin to the Xbox Live Gold program, offering members a handful of a games a month to download and keep for as long as they maintained their membership.
The PlayStation Plus Collection changes Sony's model into something more on par with Xbox Game Pass. According to Sony, PlayStation Plus members will have access to a "curated library of PS4 games" at no additional cost to their membership. The PlayStation Plus Collection is launching with some heavy hitters, including God of War, Persona 5, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End and The Last of Us: Remastered. The titles available will vary by country, and Sony has not confirmed if this will be a rotating collection, like Xbox Game Pass, or if this is a static offering that will never add or lose games. When this collection will come to PlayStation Plus has not been confirmed, but Sony did say that the collection would be available for PS5 owners from the launch of the console.
Sony and Microsoft are taking two different approaches with how they are utilizing their back catalog to entice members to their services. Xbox is relying on a more broad Netflix-style model, offering well over one hundred games, most of which are indie or old releases. There are occasional AAA titles - Red Dead Redemption 2 was available for a few months, and Gears 5 has been available since the game launched - but Xbox Game Pass is more about encouraging players to try out games they might have ignored if they had had to pay full price.
Sony, on the other hand, is using the PlayStation Plus Collection to bring together a higher profile, if smaller, library of titles, a number of which are PlayStation exclusives. Several games that many would consider "must-plays" are included, like The Last of Us: Remastered and Bloodborne. There are a few mid-tier titles as well, such as Days Gone and Detroit: Become Human, but the theme of the PlayStation Plus Collection seems to be a sampling of some of the very best the PlayStation 4 had to offer.
With release dates for games constantly up in the air because of delays caused by COVID, the PlayStation Plus Collection is a smart move to offer to new owners of the PlayStation 5. While Sony has confirmed a few new titles for launch, such as Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Demon's Souls, they might not have as many games during the console's first few months as they might have hoped. The PlayStation Plus Collection offers plenty of content to keep PS5 owners busy for hours, hopefully until the release of next-gen games goes into full swing.
Source: PlayStation Blog
PlayStation 5 will launch on November 12th, 2020.
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