Spencer also calls the whole thing an “inevitability.” And really that’s not too far off the mark. The success of Xbox Game Pass is known far and wide by a large portion of the gaming community. Both by gamers and people in the industry that create games. That includes Sony, who has been routinely killing it when it comes to console hardware sales. But there’s no denying the success and value that Game Pass offers, while Sony’s own PlayStation NOW has been less liked by the masses. So it was only a matter of time before Sony came out with its own version of Xbox’s offering.
Xbox’s Phil Spencer says a PlayStation Game Pass was always going to happen
Spencer doesn’t name a PlayStation rival to Game Pass directly, but it seems like he does infer it. Stating that he feels the industry was always going to go this way. Which means that eventually, Sony was always likely going to offer something like Game Pass. Even if Microsoft did do things first, Spencer doesn’t look at Sony moving in the same direction as validation. Instead, he sees this movement of games being available across screens as an industry inevitability.
Xbox has a head start, but it will it stay ahead?
Nothing about Sony’s service has been confirmed thus far. But the rumor is that Sony will be doing away with the PlayStation Now brand, and rolling its offerings into a service codenamed Spartacus. PlayStation Plus is also said to be a part of this new service bundle. There were also be tiered packages. With options for PS4 and PS5 games, as well as PS1, PS2, PS3, and PSP games. All for a single monthly fee. If the details are accurate, then PlayStation owners may be in for a value that really does rival what Xbox offers. The service is rumored to be coming out sometime in 2022.
