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Sony's new PS Plus subscription, previously known as "Spartacus", that will launch this June will not feature Day 1 Releases of first-party big new titles, unlike its competitor, Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass. Talking to Games Industry, PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan explained why the company chose not to add Sony's new games to the subscription saying that they "could suffer" if they were added to PlayStation Plus.
"This is not a road that we’ve gone down in the past. And it’s not a road that we’re going to go down with this new service," said Ryan. He outlined that if the company were to add new Sony first-party titles to PlayStation Plus, the level of investment that the company would have to make in its studios "would not be possible". Besides, according to Ryan, the quality of the games would worsen in this case which would not be appreciated by the gamers.
Although PlayStation's view is not unique on this point and the majority of AAA publishers are also unwilling to put their latest games into subscription services, the others including Microsoft with its Xbox Game Pass argue that putting the most recent titles into subscription services could potentially widen audiences.
Speaking of whether PlayStation is ever to add its latest titles to PlayStation Plus, Ryan noted that with the company's current publishing model this approach wouldn't make any sense, although he added that "things can change very quickly" in the gaming industry.
As an example of changing environment, Ryan talked of PlayStation exclusives like Horizon Zero Dawn and God of War that eventually were ported to PC. "Who would have said even four years ago that you would see AAA PlayStation IP being published on PC?" he said. "[We've had] great critical success and great commercial success, and everybody has made their peace with that happening and is completely at ease with it. I look back four years and think nobody would have seen that coming."
Elsewhere in the interview, Ryan also spoke about live service games saying that they are "effectively subscription services in themselves". He noted that the trend toward such games will continue in the future. "If you look for a model in our category of entertainment, which supports sustained engagement over a long period of time, live services games arguably fit that bill better than a subscription service," he said. Ryan also stressed that "it's all about choice" and "nobody is obliged to do anything".
You can read full Jim Ryan's interview with Games Industry here. Also, don't forget to join our new Reddit page, our new Telegram channel, follow us on Instagram and Twitter, where we are sharing breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.