Sony, like most corporations, is greedy. That might not come as a shock – especially if you’re already familiar with the company’s recent PS5 price hike or the already-expensive PS Plus tiers. Maybe Sony thinks we haven’t gotten the message, having just announced new plans to raise the price of its 12-month PS Plus subscriptions globally, starting 6 September 2023.
This isn’t some minor hike, either. The South African Rand increase hasn’t yet been announced, but it looks as though Sony’s gone for a 20-25% hike across the board – adding to the service’s already-exorbitant prices. The change appears to be highest in the US, increasing by 35%. Yikes.
PS Plus (a few hundred bucks)
There is, at least, a silver lining for Sony’s monthly and three-month PS Plus customers – the Japanese conglomerate has left those tiers alone. But for those that prefer a yearly subscription, you’ll have to fork out more to enjoy those ‘savings’.
Should South Africa mimic the US price hike, we’ll be looking at a 30-35% increase across the three tiers, which would make the new prices look something like this:
- PS Plus Essential 12-Month Subscription: R1,000 – was R750 (33% increase)
- PS Plus Extra 12-Month Subscription: R1,680 – was R1,240 (35% increase)
- PS Plus Deluxe 12-Month Subscription: R1,900 – was R1,430 (33% increase)
Were South Africa to avoid the US price hike, and match the increases from other regions, we could be seeing a 20-25%, which would make the new prices look something like this:
- PS Plus Essential 12-Month Subscription: R900 – was R750 (20% increase)
- PS Plus Extra 12-Month Subscription: R1,490 – was R1,240 (20% increase)
- PS Plus Deluxe 12-Month Subscription: R1,720 – was R1,430 (20% increase)
Read More: Battling to choose a new game from the PS Plus Extra tier? We’ve got you covered
Sony slipped in the news of a PS Plus price hike over on the PS Blog, after announcing the coming month’s ‘free’ games (Saints Row, Black Desert – Traveler Edition and Generation Zero). It also mentioned that current 12-month subscribers wouldn’t have to worry about the price hike “until your next renewal date that occurs on or after November 6.” Any changes made after 6 September, however, like upgrades or downgrades, will reflect the new prices.
If it wasn’t already obvious, you’ll want to add a year or two to your account before 6 September to make use of the current prices. You can do that on your PlayStation directly or through the online PS Store by visiting PlayStation’s membership tiers, signing in and clicking ‘Buy Again’.
Stuff contacted Gamefinity, South Africa’s PlayStation distributor, for comment. Unfortunately, Gamefinity was unable to confirm South Africa’s new prices at the time of publication. We will update the article when local pricing is official.