According to Sony, Xbox Game Pass is ‘considerably’ ahead of PS Plus

Sony just confirmed what no company wants to admit: Xbox Game Pass is a smashing success. In this scenario, Sony noted that the Xbox Game Pass subscription count is “considerably ahead” of the Extra and Premium levels of PlayStation Plus. The announcement was part of Sony’s reaction to the UK Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) October 14 statement regarding its concerns with Microsoft’s much-publicized purchase of Activision Blizzard.

With PC and console games cycling in and out each month, and a large selection of titles to pick from at a low monthly cost, Xbox Game Pass has long been regarded as one of the greatest gaming offers. In contrast, PlayStation Plus’s Extra and Premium levels debuted earlier this year to lacklustre reviews. The Extra tier includes several popular PS4 and PS5 games such as Stray and the Assassin’s Creed series. However, the Premium tier has yet to include as many vintage PlayStation games for players to justify the additional fee.

Sony indicated that Xbox Game Pass had over 29 million monthly customers across both console and PC, according to UK CMA records from the Activision Blizzard merger hearing. Xbox Game Pass has a claimed 25 million customers in January 2022. According to this tally, four million additional customers were gained in little over a year. Days after the UK CMA issued its report, Xbox CEO Phil Spencer weighed in, saying that the criticism was reasonable and beneficial to corporate regulation. Spencer maintained his belief that Microsoft would buy Activision Blizzard by June 2023.

Despite the revelation, Sony has not disclosed the number of monthly users to PlayStation Plus at any tier or payment plan. Those wishing to join PlayStation Plus on their PS4 or PS5 will, however, have a plethora of games to select from, particularly at the Extra and Premium levels. With a Black Friday discount and some popular new additions to the list, such as Skyrim and the Kingdom Hearts series for Extra tier users, the titles for PlayStation Plus continue to pile up.

In the short run, PlayStation gamers need not be concerned about popular games becoming Xbox and PC exclusives in the near future. With Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 selling well across all platforms, it comes to reason that Microsoft’s current focus is to maintain releases on as many platforms as possible. Only time will tell whether this changes, or if rules force Microsoft’s hand in any manner.