God of War Ragnarök, the sequel to 2018’s God of War, arrives sometime this year, but the PlayStation exclusive won’t be on PS Plus on day one.
God of War Ragnarök, the highly-anticipated sequel to 2018’s God of War, is expected to be released later this year, however, it’s been revealed the PlayStation exclusive won’t be on PS Plus on day one, not even for Premium subscribers. PS Plus is PlayStation’s subscription service that gives players access to online multiplayer and monthly free games. PS Plus will soon be merging with PS Now, PlayStation’s game subscription service intended to compete with Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass, but neither platform will give players access to God of War Ragnarok upon its release.
God of War Ragnarok is the upcoming ninth game in the God of War series, expected to arrive at some point in 2022 for PlayStation 4 and 5. Initially planned for a 2021 release date, God of War Ragnarok was delayed like many major video games due to challenges caused by the COVID pandemic, as well as Kratos actor Christopher Judge’s health issues. The upcoming Norse mythology-inspired title is a sequel to God of War, which was released in 2018 as a PlayStation exclusive, before being ported to PC in January 2022. God of War is one of PlayStation’s most successful franchises, with 2018’s installment having the highest Metacritic score (94) of any Sony Interactive Entertainment title at time of writing.
PlayStation recently confirmed that PS Plus won’t be getting day one launches of major PlayStation Studios releases, a stark contrast to competitor Xbox Game Pass’ model. In a recent interview, PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan confirmed that the company’s own games won’t be appearing on the soon-to-be-revamped PS Plus on day one, due to the level of investment needed and concerns about the potential knock-on effects on the quality of the games produced. However, Ryan advised that this could change in the future, as the game industry and publishing models are constantly evolving.
PS Plus Won’t Get PlayStation Studios Releases On Day One
It’s clear that Xbox Game Pass has a significant advantage over the new PS Plus in terms of the latest video game releases. Xbox Game Studios releases are usually added to Game Pass on day one, as well as titles from Bethesda and other AAA studios. However, the main reason most PlayStation users purchase a PS Plus subscription is for its online multiplayer benefits, rather than its game catalog with titles like God of War, which will attract current PS Now subscribers. In that sense, PS Plus is more comparable to Xbox Live Gold which players must purchase to enjoy Xbox online multiplayer.
PlayStation will be shortly merging its PS Plus and PS Now subscription services to offer players a catalog of PlayStation games to enjoy alongside their access to online multiplayer modes. In addition to not adding PlayStation IP releases like God of War Ragnarök on the service on day one, as rival Xbox does with its IP, PS Plus limits access to its classic games catalog behind its highest, Premium price tier. While the new and improved PS Plus service definitely sounds limited as a game subscription service, players will need a membership if they want to enjoy online multiplayer. Therefore, PS Plus is essential for players who want to play online co-op, making its game offering more of an added bonus than its prime selling point.
Source: Games Industry
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