As if console price hikes weren’t enough, Sony has now confirmed that it’s planning to raise PlayStation Plus subscription rates to improve profitability—and this isn’t the first time it’s done so in 2026.

A translated Sony Q&A from June, featuring Sony CEO and President Hideaki Nishino, Senior Vice President of Finance and Corporate Development Lynn Azar, and Studio Business CEO Hermen Hulst, has shed light on the future of PlayStation Plus’ pricing model. When asked about the “pace and scale of future PS Plus price increases,” the official response highlighted the success of the subscription model and revealed that the company plans to use “multiple levers” to boost profitability.

“PS Plus offers strong value to players, and we continually balance that value against customer cost. We are using multiple levers to improve profitability, including pricing, tier mix, and content acquisition efficiency. Higher tiers now account for 40% of subscribers, which reflects strong demand for the service. PS Plus remains a key driver of profitability, and we achieved record-high PS Plus profitability in FY2025.”

The interview also revealed Sony’s intention to cover additional costs incurred to maintain cloud servers and network infrastructure for PS Portal through PlayStation Plus.

“We expect to recover the costs associated with investments and operations through revenue generated from PS Plus, which provides the streaming service.”

Needless to say, we’re likely going to see more tiers for PlayStation Plus and possibly another price increase this year. Sony raised subscription prices in a select group of markets back in May, inviting heavy backlash. It looks like the company is aiming to make more tweaks, this time for markets across the globe.

At present, PlayStation Plus offers three tiers:

• Essential: $10.99 per month
• Extra: $16.99 per month
• Premium/Deluxe: $19.99 per month

All of them include substantial benefits, including free monthly games, online multiplayer, cloud storage, and more. That said, it’s difficult to predict Sony’s plans right now or how they’d affect affordability. As hinted in this interview (and in a previous report), the company will likely add more value to these tiers or potentially introduce new ones to cater to more types of players and drive higher adoption.

Sony has not revealed when the next price changes might occur, but the company’s comments indicate that PlayStation Plus will remain a key revenue driver for the gaming business and will continue to evolve. The plan is likely to try to grow the appeal of its pricier plans, which already make up a significant chunk of its subscriber base, rather than relying on occasional subscription price hikes. That could mean more exclusive perks, more cloud gaming features, or more integration with the PlayStation ecosystem in the future.

It’s also interesting to note the timing of these comments, as subscription services have become more important across the gaming industry, with development costs rising and hardware sales slowing down. The biggest players in this field are looking for recurring revenue streams to support long-term growth, and PlayStation Plus is one of Sony’s biggest opportunities for that.

All that said, convincing gamers to pay more will likely come down to whether Sony can deliver enough value alongside any future price adjustments. Some added features, or added content, could help cushion the blow, but a worldwide increase without any meaningful improvements would likely be met with the same criticism that followed the regional price hikes earlier this year. For now, PlayStation Plus users will have to wait and see what Sony’s strategy will be: better benefits, new membership tiers, or just a higher subscription price.

Brand

Sony

Original Release Date

June 29, 2010

Original MSRP (USD)

$59.99 (Essential), $99.99 (Extra), $119.99 (Premium) – Per Year

App Store

PlayStation Store