Sony has confirmed it’s disabled PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now subscription stacking, ahead of the revamp of its membership services this summer.
In an update to its official PlayStation Plus FAQ page made on Friday, the platform holder claimed it had blocked subscription stacking “temporarily” and confirmed that going forwards, any voucher codes will be redeemable until after an existing membership expires.
In addition, Sony said that for existing subscribers, vouchers will now convert to time “equivalent” to the monetary value of their subscription.
For example, a one-month PlayStation Plus voucher will provide access to approximately three weeks of PlayStation Plus Extra or approximately 2.5 weeks of PlayStation Plus Premium. A one-month PlayStation Now voucher will provide access to approximately three weeks of PlayStation Plus Premium.
PlayStation Plus Monthly Games – PS5 & PS4 – May 2022
“As we prepare to launch the new PlayStation Plus membership service, we are doing some work behind the scenes to make the transition as smooth as possible for all of our existing members,” the FAQ update reads.
“As part of this work, we’ve temporarily disabled stacking memberships for existing customers until after the launch. Rest assured that your voucher code is still valid, and you will be able to redeem your code either when your existing membership expires and deactivates, or after the new PlayStation Plus service launches in your area, whichever happens first.”
It adds: “If you currently have a PlayStation Plus or PlayStation Now membership, due to changes we are making to the service prior to launch, you won’t be able to redeem a voucher code for that service until your existing membership expires and deactivates, or after the new PlayStation Plus service launches in your area, whichever happens first.”
The move is likely Sony attempting to stop players making savings on the revamped PlayStation Plus service, which will begin rolling out in May structured across three payment tiers.
Earlier this month, dedicated PlayStation owners bought up years’ worth of PS Now subscriptions while they were still available to save money on PS Plus Premium.
Prior to being pulled from sale in early April, 12-month PS Now subscriptions cost $59.99/£49.99. Sony had previously said that when the new PS Plus service launches, PS Now memberships will be converted to PS Plus Premium, which will cost $119/99/£99.99 per year.
More recently, it said players who are subscribed to both PS Plus and PS Now when the new service launches will be migrated to PS Plus Premium with a new single payment date based on whichever subscription is set to end last.
A large number of PS4 and PS5 owners have complained of being unable to extend memberships over the last few days, leading to suspicions that Sony had disabled PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now stacking, although this wasn’t officially confirmed until today.
The company recently announced the target release dates for the new PS Plus subscription service, which will launch in three tiers: Essential, Extra and Premium.
PS Plus Essential offers the same benefits as the current PS Plus service, with monthly free games, discounts and online multiplayer. It will also cost the same: $9.99/€8.99/£6.99 a month, $24.99/€24.99/£19.99 for three months, or $59.99/€59.99/£49.99 a year.
PS Plus Extra will include the same benefits but with access to a library of 400 downloadable PS4 and PS5 games. It will cost $14.99/€13.99/£10.99 a month, $39.99/€39.99/£31.99 for three months, or $99.99/€99.99/£83.99 a year.
PS Plus Premium will include the above benefits while adding up to 340 additional games including PS3 titles available via cloud streaming, and a catalogue of classic games available in both streaming and download options from the original PlayStation, PS2 and PSP generations.
Priced at $17.99/€16.99/£13.49 a month, $49.99/€49.99/£39.99 for three months, or $119.99/€119.99/£99.99 a year, Premium will also include time-limited game trials.