Even though the new-look PS Plus is admittedly only three months old, a few trends have already started to emerge around its Extra and Premium options. Considering how Sony has maintained a firm routine when it comes to the renamed Essential tier, it stands to reason that PS4 and PS5 owners can look forward to these becoming the norm too. WIth this in mind, there are a few things fans should keep in mind as they browse the service’s libraries.
RELATED: Why It’ll Take Years for PS Plus to Catch Up to Xbox Game Pass
PS Plus’ Tuesday Refreshes
When news about Sony’s plans for PlayStation Plus first hit the internet at the end of last year, most of its key features were leaked at the same time. The multi-tiered approach to content for example, was just one of the points the publisher confirmed itself several months later. Other important factors though, such as when subscribers could expect new content to be made available to them, were left up in the air. Even when Sony pulled back the curtain on the service during its global rollout in June, it still wasn’t entirely clear when the Extra and Premium tiers would be updated.
Now that PS Plus’ Extra and Premium tiers are about to be refreshed for a second time though, it looks as though Sony has finally settled on a specific point in the month for these updates to take place on. That’s because both tiers’ first refresh on July 19, and their second incoming one on August 16, share an important factor in common. While it might not be apparent at just a glance, both dates are actually the third Tuesday of their respective months.
It seems safe to say that Sony hasn’t picked these dates randomly out of a hat. While it was theorized that the first update was penciled in to line-up with Stray’s release date, a pattern has now been established that points to this not being the case. Unlike rival services like Microsoft’s Game Pass, which is refreshed throughout a month, it looks as though PS Plus will be more regimented. For the time being at least, fans can mark the third Tuesday of each month as the point they’ll likely get new content to play with.
RELATED: PS Plus Free Games for August 2022 May Be the Best Sony Has to Offer This Year
Essential’s Own Pattern
One of the biggest factors that reinforces the idea that PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium will stick to this pattern, is the third tier that subscribers can buy into. As its name implies, the subscription model’s Essential tier is basically the version of the service that fans have had access to for years. Sony might have given it a brand-new moniker, but its monthly games and basic features have all been kept intact after the reboot. What’s important to keep in mind when looking at the service’s other tiers is the fact that its release schedule has also been maintained.
While there have been occasional exceptions, Sony has stuck to a strict release schedule for the subscription service since its launch. Back when it debuted on the PS3 in 2010 for example, monthly refreshes were pushed to subscribers on the first Wednesday of the month. In more recent times, though, it’s become common practice for Sony to push these updates out on the first Tuesday of each month instead. Part of the logic seemingly being that PlayStation Store customers are more accustomed to updates happening each week on a Tuesday.
Having stuck to this precedent in spite of PS Plus’ reboot, it stands to reason that the pattern that’s been observed in the Extra and Premium tiers will stick as well. Tuesdays are clearly the day that Sony believes it gets the most engagement out of subscribers, so adding a different one into the mix could cause confusion. As an added consequence, slightly splitting the more expensive tiers away from the Essential option will allow Sony to focus on its established model when it needs to - safeguarding the subscribers it’s already won over and built an ecosystem around.
The PS Plus Cycle
Differentiating each of PlayStation Plus’ tiers like this is a smart bet on Sony’s part, to the point that it’s easy to see the separate Tuesday pattern continuing. Even though the Essential, Extra, and Premium tiers all focus on games, the publisher has still built each to be unique. Giving all three adequate space then, especially during the early days of the reboot, will allow Sony to showcase their respective benefits better. Provided at least that it can address issues, such as the fact that the Premium tier’s classic library has only had three post-launch additions.
Updating PS Plus’ Essential, Extra, and Premium tiers on the same day would potentially bombard subscribers with too much content all at once. Even though a case can be made that each PlayStation owner has their own personal tastes and preferences, some games would naturally be overlooked in this scenario no matter what. Based on how contracts with third party and indie developers will likely define the health of the service going forward, Sony won’t want to risk damaging these relationships.
However, the biggest reason why it’s easy to see PS Plus’ Extra and Premium tiers being updated along established lines has a lot to do with the marketing benefits it brings to Sony. As a direct result of this pattern, right now the service is making news headlines every single week. During the second and final week of each month, for example, the publisher gets the chance to advertise what’s coming to the platform for its subscribers. While, as has been discussed, during the first and third weeks the content is actually made available.
In an industry that’s becoming increasingly dominated by subscription services and digital ecosystems, PS Plus’ current setup is highly lucrative to Sony. Thanks to its regular announcements and releases, the service and its various tiers are never too far away from the gaming public’s conscience. By the time that players have been able to access a new game, something else is already heading their way. Even though Sony has work to do when it comes to the content available, this model could make it hard for many to ignore PS Plus.
MORE: 3 PS Plus Extra Games With Fast and Easy Platinum Trophies
