Sony stops PlayStation Now stacking to protect its new Premium service

Sony has updated its PlayStation Plus FAQ page (tucked away at the bottom here) and is clamping down further on loopholes that gave users early discounts on its upcoming PlayStation Plus Premium service. It’s also pausing the activation of PlayStation Plus and Now vouchers for current subscribers until after its new service rolls out in June, and there’s even an official conversion chart showing the value of those vouchers for its upcoming three services; PlayStation Plus Essentials, Extra, and Premium.

After Sony announced its plan to restructure PlayStation Plus into a new three-tiered service to further compete with Microsoft’s and Nintendo’s services, things were slightly vague about how the conversion to the new tiers will work. Users began stacking prepaid subscriptions to PlayStation Now, Sony’s cloud streaming service on consoles and PC, hoping the $59.99 per-year service would convert to the upcoming $119.99 per-year PlayStation Plus Premium. Sony was quick to stop many people from exploiting that discount, but it couldn’t keep people from buying and redeeming the cards for some sort of service — and those remaining PS Now voucher cards will give you at least a partial PlayStation Plus Premium subscription.

At least, they will starting in June. Sony is now keeping many people from redeeming prepaid vouchers until after the PS Plus relaunch. Only users who aren’t already subscribed can redeem a one, three, or 12-month prepaid card, which are still sold at many retailers (including directly from Sony).

What happens if you have a prepaid voucher once June rolls around? Well, it will still be worth redeeming them once you’re able. Sony made this helpful chart to explain how much they’re worth when converting to the new service. While a month of PlayStation Now won’t buy you a month of PlayStation Plus Premium, Sony says you’ll still get “ the length of time equivalent to the monetary value of your original voucher.

Did I say helpful? I meant dreadful. But just as Sony’s announcement of its new PS Plus service has been rife with confusion, so too has its communication of conversions up until now. Hopefully, the next bit of new info from Sony will be the full list of games that accessible with PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium, so people have a clearer idea of why these new tiers are worthy of a subscription.