Recent reports suggest that the PS5 will be unveiled by Sony in the coming weeks, while fans are also hoping to find out how the PS Plus subscription will work on the PlayStation 5. Currently, PS4 console owners pay a monthly subscription so that they can have full access to multiplayer features and enjoy a number of other rewards too. This includes free games each month that come from the PlayStation 4. But with the launch of the PS5, how exactly will this change? It seems reasonable to think that Sony will have to tweak its PS Plus offering to accommodate the launch of a new console. And this seems likely to happen by using a future backwards compatibility feature with the PS5. It might take months until PS Plus offers PS5 games as rewards, or Sony may look to support it much sooner.
And this month has also seen an interesting development with the PS Plus subscription, which may hint at changes to come.
This month, PS Plus subscribers can download three games; BioShock: The Collection, The Sims 4, and Firewall Zero Hour.
The one that sticks out is Zero Hour, a PSVR game that requires a headset to play, as well as a PlayStation camera.
What’s interesting about this is that Sony makes no special reference to its inclusion, even though PSVR games aren’t offered very often.
“Become a hired contractor and expertly seize – or protect – sensitive information from opposing teams in Firewall Zero Hour, a 4v4 tactical shooter developed exclusively for PS VR,” a message from Sony reads.
“Dive straight into these intense multiplayer battles when Firewall Zero Hour’s new season – Operation: Black Dawn – also begins 4th February, featuring a new map (Oil Rig) available for all players, and other free content.”
The new Premium service would run parallel with the existing PS Plus setup, meaning there would be no need to upgrade.
The report also predicted the PS5 being released in November 2020 with Backwards Compatibility and 8K support, but also claimed that Sony would reveal its new console in 2019.
So it’s hard to work out whether this report should be treated as anything other than a rumour.
Fans were also hoping for some kind of PS5 reveal in February, which would be a perfect time for Sony to talk about any changes they had planned for PS Plus in 2020.
However, nothing has been confirmed by Sony for this month, meaning fans might be waiting longer to find out about the future of the PlayStation brand.
Whatever is revealed, Sony will be desperate to please fans, with the PS Plus and PlayStation Network becoming increasingly more important to the financial outlook of the company.