On the same day that Sony announced the new PlayStation Plus tier-based subscription service, previously known as Spartacus, Microsoft has released a social media post pointing to one major feature that Game Pass has and PlayStation Plus does not.
A post from the Xbox Game Pass account on reminds everyone that brand-new games launch on day one into the Game Pass library, including all first-party Xbox games and some third-party titles. “We love options!” the tweet says. The post never specifically mentions PlayStation, but the timing and content of the tweet is definitely noteworthy.
For those catching up, the new version of PlayStation Plus lacks day one new releases, and beyond that, PlayStation boss Jim Ryan in fact believes games “could suffer” if they came to PS Plus on day one. For what it’s worth, Ryan has also said Sony is open to changing its mind based on market trends and other factors. Many will recall there was a time when Sony did not release its blockbuster console games on PC, and now the company is doing that and expanding its profile on PC overall.
Further still, Xbox’s tweet was not likely devised as an attack or a pointed criticism of PlayStation. In the past, both Xbox and PlayStation [and Nintendo, too] have played nice together in social media posts. Xbox boss Phil Spencer, meanwhile, has denounced the idea of console wars, calling on the industry to instead come together.
Still, Xbox Game Pass getting day one new releases is a major and important distinction between Game Pass and PlayStation Plus, even if the two memberships have diverging and distinct value propositions that can’t fairly or completely be compared.
For more, check out GameSpot’s breakdown of Game Pass vs. PlayStation Plus to learn more about each offering and how they compare.
