We all know, by now, that Sony is revamping its PlayStation Plus subscription service by adding new tiers that’ll let you have more access to games (both new and old) if you pay for the most expensive level of membership. Today, it’s the final push of the launch phase, as Sony completes its final rollout in Europe, the Middle East, India, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.
The rebirth of Playstation Plus, in essence, merges the aging PlayStation Now streaming with PlayStation Plus’ cloud gaming capabilities, resulting in a service that is comparable – though not the same as – Xbox Game Pass. The three new tiers are: Essential, Extra, and Premium, which are priced from $9.99 to $17.99 a month.
To celebrate the launch of the tiers in all regions, Sony has pushed out a new advert featuring a peculiar man named Mr. Malcolm, for some reason. Malcolm – accompanied by a large number of PlayStation icons from the past and present – is a vessel for all things PlayStation, showing off (assumedly) what Sony wants you to feel like you’ll be enjoying from this new PS Plus experience.
“This is the beginning of a new era for PlayStation Plus and we are excited about the possibilities ahead,” says Sony in a statement released with the ad. “Stay tuned for our monthly announcements on future games that will be offered to PlayStation Plus members.” Don’t mind me, I’m just over here begging for Gex and Soul Reaver.
“Why be one thing, when you can be anything?” asks the trailer, no doubt trying to draw attention to the 700+ titles available via PlayStation Plus Premium. Alongside a cabinet full of Platinum trophies (nice), if you keep your eyes peeled, you’ll see nods to iconic franchises like Horizon, Uncharted, and – yes! – even Bloodborne.
Sony has been kind-of quiet about Bloodborne for the last few years. The closest we’ve got to any kind of sequel is in the form of an Unreal Engine 5 video that cropped up earlier this week. And, of course, there are some people shunting elements of the game into Elden Ring, too.
I have a question, though; what’s the raw steak that Mr. Malcolm is feeding to the man he keeps locked in his basement representing? Resi, maybe? Or is it a nod to something else… steak could be ‘stake’, right? Vampires don’t like stakes. Does that mean Sony has bought Castlevania from Konami!?
No, don’t be stupid.
