Nicolae Bochis · August 7, 2023 · 9 min read Both Sony and Microsoft decided to offer Netflix-like subscriptions for gamers. You pay a monthly fee and get access to thousands of games on your PlayStation or Xbox console. In fact, both PlayStation Plus and Xbox Game Pass let you choose games from a library so extensive it’ll take you months if not years to fully explore.
There are different benefits and drawbacks to PlayStation Plus and Game Pass. This article will explore them all so it’s easier for you to choose which one to go with if you also can’t decide which console to buy. Some aspects of these two services are different and you should be fully aware of where you’re putting your money.
PlayStation Plus
The first form of Sony’s subscription service was known as Sony Now, and it came out in 2015. This standalone subscription allowed its users to stream hundreds of Sony titles, old and new. But in June 2022, Sony decided to change its subscription service and expand it into three tiers. The new subscription plan was named PlayStation Plus, and the tiers are Essential, Extra, and Premium.
The Essential PS Plus plan gives you one PS5 game and two PS4 games every month. But you have access to online multiplayer and cloud storage. With it, you’ll have exclusive discounts on all games available for the Sony PlayStation console.
The PS Plus Extra plan gives you access to a catalog of over 400 PS5 and PS4 titles, all of them downloadable. Ubisoft+ Classic titles are included in this plan, so you can play some of the most famous Ubisoft games for no extra cost.
The PS Plus Premium plan is a combination of Essential and Extra tiers and more. You’ll be able to stream and download PS5 and PS4 games and only stream PS3 games. The catalog expands to PS1, PS2, and PSP games, adding over 340 titles to the already existing library of over 400 games. Ubisoft+ Classic titles are also included.
To stream games using the PS Plus Premium tier, you’ll need an internet connection. Sony recommends at least 5 Mbps for your stream to be smooth. Use the streaming service only if you don’t want to bother downloading the game. The only downside is that you can expect some lag and sudden fps drops on occasion.
Xbox Game Pass
Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass is available for Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. But you can also get the Game Pass for PC if you have Windows 10 or 11. Until recently, Game Pass games were download-only. But Microsoft decided to offer their users a streaming service, and now you won’t have to fill your storage with games you want to try out. However, if you want to play online games, you’ll need Xbox Live Gold or Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
Unlike PS Plus, Xbox Game Pass has no tiers, and it’s a pretty straightforward service. All the titles from any Xbox generation will be automatically available to you, and you can download and play as many as you want. That is, provided you have enough storage on your Xbox console.
To keep your Xbox Game Pass subscription valid, you have to check in with Xbox Live at least every 30 days. Some titles will leave Xbox Game Pass, the others will join it. Unfortunately, you can’t predict the games that’ll be in the Xbox catalog. However, as a subscriber, you get a discount on buying any game from the catalog, or any game’s DLC.
PlayStation Plus Vs Xbox Game Pass Pricing and Plans
Both PlayStation Plus and Xbox Game Pass plans start at $10 per month. However, since PS Plus has three different tiers, it has a slightly different price for each of them. PS Plus also lets you pay monthly, quarterly, or per year. Check out the price comparison in the table below:
| Xbox Game Pass for Console | $10/month | PlayStation Plus Essential | $10/month, $25 quarterly, $60/year |
| Xbox Game Pass for PC | $10/month | PlayStation Plus Extra | $15/month, $40 quarterly, $100/year |
| Xbox Game Pass Ultimate | $15/month | PlayStation Plus Premium | $18/month, $50 quarterly,
$120/year |
Xbox Game Pass for Console and for PC costs only $10 per month. You have access to the whole Xbox game library and you can download any game you want. But you can’t stream the games. In order to stream, you’ll have to go with the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which is $15 per month.
PlayStation Plus plans we explained in the section above. The Essential, which is the basic plan, is $10 per month and it gives you three downloadable games and access to online multiplayer support. For $15 you can upgrade to PS Plus Extra and get access to the whole Sony PlayStation game library. To stream the games however, you’ll have to pay $18 per month for the PS Plus Premium subscription.
PlayStation Plus Vs Xbox Game Pass Game Library
The whole vision behind both PlayStation Plus and Xbox Game Pass is to give users access to a Netflix-like library of content. In this case, the content is games that you can download or stream, depending on the plan you choose. Both platforms have extensive video game libraries, but they have different approaches to maintaining their catalogs and how they add new titles.
While Sony waits a few months to add the newest titles to their PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium tiers, Microsoft adds the new titles to their Xbox Game Pass on their release date. This is a big deal if you like playing the newest games as soon as they’re released. On the other hand, if you prefer indie games, you’ll be happy to hear that Sony adds these titles to all their PS Plus plans on day one.
Both service providers also partnered up with various game studios and offered their games. For example, if you love EA Games and their titles such as Need for Speed, the Sims, or Star Wars, you might want to go with the Xbox Game Pass as you can play them on the Xbox console. Microsoft is also in partnership with Riot, and you can use their Game Pass for PC to play League of Legends. On the other hand, Sony partnered up with Ubisoft, and their catalog as well as the Ubisoft+ Classic games list, is accessible through the PlayStation console. If you love Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and the Tom Clancy franchise, you might want to go for PS Plus.
Not all games are permanently available in Microsoft’s or Sony’s game catalog. That depends on the publisher. For sure, all first-party games, developed and published by Microsoft or Sony, will stay in the catalog permanently. But the games made by third-party developers will rotate out of the catalogs. This is especially true for new games that have a set timeframe for how long they will be available. Classic first-party titles tend to stay available permanently.
That said, here are some of the most popular and successful games available on each console subscription service.
Most Popular PS Plus Games
- God of War
- Horizon Forbidden West
- Doom Eternal
- Final Fantasy 16
- Spiderman
- Death Stranding
- Red Dead Redemption II
- Assassin’s Creed franchise
Most Popular Xbox Game Pass Games
- Halo: The Master Chief Collection
- Ghostwire: Tokyo
- Minecraft Legends
- Goat Simulator
- Watch Dogs 2
- Among Us
- Forza Horizon 5
- Mass Effect
PlayStation Plus Vs Xbox Game Pass Game Streaming
Game Streaming, or Cloud Gaming is supported by Xbox Game Pass Ultra and PlayStation Plus Premium. You can use this feature to stream the games on your console, or other devices in case you don’t own Xbox or PlayStation.
Xbox cloud gaming with Game Pass Ultra lets you stream games on Xbox consoles, PC, tablets, smartphones, and some Samsung smart TVs. Some titles are even optimized for touchscreens, so you won’t need to use a controller to play them on mobile devices.
PlayStation Plus Premium offers streaming only on PS5 and PS4 consoles, and PC. For now, there’s no option to directly stream to smartphones or TVs. Games that were specifically developed for PlayStation 5 cannot be streamed yet. However, you can always download these titles to your host PS5 console, and then stream them to your PC, Mac, iOS, and Android devices.
The advantage of the PS Plus Premium plan is in its Play Share feature. Use it to share your screen with online friends and play games together as if you were in the same room. Xbox Game Pass doesn’t offer this or any similar feature.
PlayStation Plus Vs Xbox Game Pass Verdict
For now, the Xbox Game Pass wins over PlayStation Plus, but PlayStation Plus is catching up and offering some nice benefits to their subscription service too. Getting premium game titles and releasing them on the same day is a huge plus for Xbox Game Pass.
Although both Sony and Microsoft offer their subscription plans for PC gaming, Xbox does it with smartphones too and allows mobile users to enjoy some of their titles without even having to bother with the controller. Sony has yet to expand its offer of exclusive high-profile titles and device support.
Although Xbox Game Pass is a better bang for your buck, it’s only because it was on the market much longer and it had time to develop. Given time, Sony will catch up and it’s already catching up reasonably quickly. You can already spend thousands of hours with a PS Plus subscription.
That said, the ultimate decision about which to choose will depend on the games you want to play. Check out the full libraries of both Sony’s PlayStation Plus and Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass and look for the titles you want to play. In this area, it’s worth mentioning that the PlayStation Plus catalog is larger than the Xbox Game Pass catalog, and Sony has some of the most attractive and award-winning titles that are exclusive to the PlayStation console.
