Sony's new service combines PS Plus + PS Now, with PS1, PS2, PS3 games

Sony's answer to Xbox Game Pass would combine PS Plus and PS Now services together in a three-tiered structure, sources tell Bloomberg.

According to a new Bloomberg report, Sony is currently working on a big competitor to Xbox Game Pass. Sony's new digital service, planned to release in Spring 2022, is codenamed Spartacus and would combine PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now in a single subscription.

Spartacus would be broken up into three different tiers:

• Tier 1 - Basic PlayStation Plus benefits (free monthly games, multiplayer, discounts)
• Tier 2 - Access to PS4 and PS5 games (similar to PlayStation Plus Collection)
• Tier 3 - Game streaming, PS1, PS2, PS3, and PSP games

If priced accordingly, Sony could take a large bite out of the Xbox Game Pass value proposition. PlayStation services have paled in comparison to Xbox in recent years largely due to Game Pass, a $15 a month service that alleviates the need to buy video games thanks to its wide breadth of lease-and-play content.

Sony is eager to take a bigger portion of the billion-dollar services pie that the games industry has cooked up.