Is PlayStation Plus Worth It?

PlayStation Plus has gone through several distinct changes over the years, with several users being upset over the price increase that accompanied them. But, for those who love gaming and do it regularly, the subscription is still well worth the price. I've been a subscriber for several years now, across different consoles and tiers, and the value becomes glaringly obvious if you're really taking advantage of what's on offer.

At its core, PS Plus gives you online multiplayer access, free monthly games, cloud saves, and access to exclusive discounts. While the perks of the base PS Plus Essential are handy, gaining access to the expanded library through the Extra and Premium tiers is where it really starts to show its worth. For players who like to bounce between games or are constantly looking for something new, the ever-expanding catalog can save you hundreds of dollars a year. Sharing games with your friends through Share Play is another great feature of PS Plus, but make sure you know how to stop game sharing with someone on PS5 so it doesn't affect your gameplay.

There's also something about the convenience of it all. There's no longer that sense of guilt you feel when you're paying $70 for a single game. With PS Plus Extra, you can dip into a huge variety of genres — from AAA titles to cult indie gems — without any limitation at all, apart from storage space. If you're someone who really appreciates trying new games regularly and wants access to exclusive content, it's a no-brainer.

In 2022, PlayStation Plus saw its biggest change yet when Sony introduced a three-tier system: Essential, Extra, and Premium. Each tier one-ups the other with extra features, but the one you choose really depends on how often you game and what you crave from the experience.

Essential is the base level and comes equipped with online multiplayer, free monthly game downloads, cloud storage, and store discounts. Extra introduces an incredible catalog of PS4 and PS5 titles you can download and play at any time, including an epic list of all-time classics and newer releases. Premium includes all of the above, plus cloud streaming for select titles, game trials, and a library of classic games from the PS1, PS2, PSP, and PS3 eras. 

Personally, I've always opted for the Extra tier, as I think it's the sweet spot in the lineup. It offers a great balance between value and game selection without the extras I wouldn't always use. That said, the Premium tier certainly has its appeal if you're a longtime PlayStation fan who craves the nostalgia of revisiting classic games on your PS5, or wants the ability to try games before committing. The subscription works really seamlessly, and everything is updated monthly, which keeps the experience fresh and continually worth returning to, especially if you're like me who finishes one game and has already lined up the next.

Pricing for PS Plus in the U.S. breaks down as follows: Essential is $79.99/year, Extra picks it up a notch at $134.99/year, while Premium will set you back $159.99/year. That may sound like a steep jump between tiers, especially from Essential to Extra, but there's good reason for this. A single new PS5 game can cost $70, meaning you can have access to hundreds of games for a year via PS Plus Extra for less than the price of two new releases. If you were to even play four or five of those games in a year, you'd already be saving money.

On top of all the incredible games you have access to in the game library, PS Plus members also get regular store discounts, generally in the range of 10-20% off new or recent releases. Given that brand-new games won't be added to the catalogue immediately, these discounts come in handy if you desperately want a game as it's released. They've certainly come to my aid before. Your only real stress will be storage space, but with how much storage the PS5 Pro has, it might be time to start saving. 

For gamers who love to cycle through games and want access to exclusive content and the best deals out there, PS Plus is well worth the investment. But again, the key is usage. If you're the type of player who only picks up one or two games a year and sticks with them for months, the base Essential tier might be all you need. For those who play frequently and want access to as many games as possible, including the classics, the higher tiers more than justify their value.