Sony executives reiterate that first-party masterpieces will not be launched on PS Plus

Recently, Shuhei Yoshida, head of the independent developer program of SIE (Sony Interactive Entertainment), reiterated his previous commitment at GILive2022, saying that first-party games will not be the first to join the PS Plus subscription service.

Just as movies are released in theaters and then streamed on pay-per-view or into subscription services, PlayStation's first-party games won't be available on subscription services at launch, Yoshida said.

But by the time a game is released three months, six months or even three years and sales start to drop, including those games on the PS Plus service will help introduce the game to a new, wider audience.

At the same time, Yoshida Shuhei said that some players may miss the game when it comes out. For these players, adding the game to the subscription is a good opportunity to create word-of-mouth, and it will also help increase the influence of game DLC or sequels.

It is worth mentioning that, unlike Sony’s attitude of “no free sales if sales are not reduced”, Microsoft can almost be said to be standing at the other extreme: whether it is a small-scale game such as “Ori” or “Halo”. All Microsoft's first-party games will join the XGP subscription on the first day of sale, no exceptions.

For gamers, Microsoft's approach is indeed more affordable, but in terms of profitability, Sony is indeed better.