Since its introduction, Xbox Game Pass has unquestionably become one of the biggest advantages of owning an Xbox console. Over time, the subscription service’s offering and value became harder and harder to ignore, but Sony never offered a similar option for PlayStation owners. Well, this might change soon, as suggested by Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan. Ryan spoke to Russian outlet TASS about the PS5’s prospects in the country, and the unusual challenges the team ran into when building the PS5 in a global pandemic. Ryan was asked about PlayStation’s competition with Microsoft, and what he believes are Sony’s points of differentiation. “[Console wars] is not a term I ever use or actually like,” Ryan told the Russian agency. “For me, it’s great that there’s competition. I think it makes us work harder. It avoids us getting complacent. It’s great that the consumer has a choice. I think that’s wonderful.” Asked directly about Xbox Game Pass, and whether Sony has answer to the popular service, Ryan actually made an interesting reveal. “There is actually news to come, but just not today,” Ryan said. “We have PlayStation Now which is our subscription service, and that is available in a number of markets.”
It’s not clear what he may be referring to here, but it’s unlikely to be the recently announced PlayStation Plus Collection, as that is only really a bonus on top of PlayStation Plus. If Sony is indeed working on its own version of Game Pass, don’t expect it to also include its first-party exclusives on day one like Xbox. Sony has repeatedly shot down that idea, deeming the practice “unsustainable” at one point, and calling its first-party releases too “clean and pure” to exist on a subscription service at another.
