Sony continues to avoid adding its own games to PlayStation Plus from day one, a move that keeps it at a disadvantage compared to Microsoft.
Nick Maguire, Vice President of Global Services at Sony Interactive Entertainment, spoke to Game File about PlayStation Plus’ 15-year evolution and the current state of the service. According to Maguire, the transition from the original Plus model to the new tiered structure has exceeded expectations. He made it clear that Sony has no plans to include first-party titles from PlayStation Studios in the subscription service on launch day.
Instead, PlayStation will continue to add select third-party titles to the service from day one when they align well with the platform — such as the recent inclusion of FBC: Firebreak. Maguire declined to comment on whether it would be beneficial to include live-service games like Concord at launch but admitted the title might have seen better results had it debuted on PS Plus.
He briefly touched on the rotation of titles within the catalog, though he avoided addressing the recent removal of older first-party games like Resistance. Maguire did note that he regularly reads user comments on PlayStation Plus-related posts — which are often critical.
“It’s given us a new way to reach audiences with these games and has provided partners with a new way to find people to play their titles. The engagement we see is really positive, in terms of the number of people choosing the catalog and coming back month after month. We want to invest in Plus. We want to invest in the proposition and bring more value to users. We’re also seeing high growth in Extra and Premium. We’ve stayed true to our strategy of not putting games in day-and-date releases.”
“Our strategy of identifying four to five balanced indie day-one titles — along with the 12 to 18-month-old releases — has been working really well across the platform. If we found six or seven more strong indie candidates, we’d go for those too.”
“PlayStation Plus has been an excellent tool for introducing new players to franchises. I believe every game has its moment to join Plus — when it’s ready to reach a wider audience, find new fans, or hit areas of our platform it hadn’t reached before.”
“We currently offer 80 game collections, and we aim to keep things fresh by rotating new titles in. That sometimes means removing a few games so the catalog remains dynamic and people continue discovering new experiences. Understanding where players are at can be valuable, and we intend to apply those insights in the future.”
Subscription services like PlayStation Plus, Xbox Game Pass, and Netflix constantly update their content offerings. Games and shows are routinely added and removed. Still, it’s baffling that PlayStation removes its own exclusive titles — especially those that are difficult to play elsewhere without original hardware.
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