Sony Interactive Entertainment is working with “a response” of PlayStation to the popular service of Xbox Game Pass of Microsoft.
This was stated by former senior developer and creator of God of War David Jaffe, who said that he spoke with a number of sources inside Sony about the company’s plans, which would have the aim of responding to the popularity of the subscription service from Microsoft.
There is actually news to come, but just not today. We have PlayStation Now which is our subscription service, and that is available in a number of markets. I have said time and again that people who are writing Jim Ryan’s obituary are way premature. We had the guy on the show yesterday that had made the petition to fire Jim Ryan and I was like, ‘dude, that’s way premature’ because Jim Ryan doesn’t owe anybody, Sony doesn’t owe anybody, the truth about what’s coming and what their counterpunch to Game Pass is.
What I can tell you is I know they are doing some stuff because I know people at Sony who have told me that they are doing some stuff,” he continued. There will be a response to Game Pass. What it is we don’t know. Here’s what I would say I worry about. If Jim Ryan thinks the proper response to Game Pass is to emulate backwards compatibility, PS3 games, PS2, PS1, and then to also add Trophies, which is what that patent suggests they’re going to do, and they’re also going to fold in all the movies and shit and make a streaming service, he’s absolutely wrong if he thinks that mixing it with PS Now [is the way to go].
Xbox Game Pass launched in June 2017 and has become central to Microsoft’s business, attracting over 18 million subscribers as of January 2021. The service gives Xbox and PC players access to over 100 titles, including all first-party games at launch, with an increasing number also available on Android devices via the cloud.
Sony would therefore like to relaunch with a service that would allow PlayStation to reach the Xbox Game Pass.