Here’s the tiered PlayStation Plus launch timeline

June 13 is the big day in the Americas

Sony has narrowed down the launch timeline of its new multi-tier approach to PlayStation Plus. The revamped subscription service will roll out regionally, and the first launch, for “Asia markets (excluding Japan),” is happening in just over a month on May 23.

Sony Interactive Entertainment president and CEO Jim Ryan announced the new PS Plus timeline in a blog post today, citing Sony’s “fantastic progress with our launch efforts”:

• Asia markets (excluding Japan) — targeting May 23, 2022
• Japan — targeting June 1, 2022
• Americas — targeting June 13, 2022
• Europe — targeting June 22, 2022

That’s all well and good — but what about the games, especially the fan-favorite legacy PS1/PS2/PSP games that may (or may not) make it in? We’ll have to wait for the full list.

What are the different tiers again?

A “quick” refresher on what’s included in the three PlayStation Plus tiers:

• PS Plus Essential — $60 per year with two monthly games, discounts, cloud saves, and online multiplayer, aka what we currently have as “PlayStation Plus.”
• PS Plus Extra — $100 per year with “up to 400” PS4 and PS5 games.
• PS Plus Premium — $120 per year with “340 additional games” including titles from the PS1, PS2, PSP, and (cloud steaming only) PS3 catalog, as well as PlayStation Now-style cloud streaming and “time-limited game trials.”

The pricing is going to be too steep for plenty of people, particularly folks who are into Xbox Game Pass or are struggling to find enough value in PlayStation Plus as it is. That said, plenty more of us are waiting to hear about the specific games in the latter two tiers.

Access to hundreds of (hopefully not filler) games in a digital pile doesn’t necessarily do much for me — my backlog is big enough! — but seeing certain PlayStation classics lined up together could quickly sway me through brute-forced nostalgia. I mean, hell, I’m subbed to Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack for N64 access. I’m an easy mark!

Curiously, Syphon Filter could be in the running for PlayStation Plus Premium if a recent rating in Korea is any indication. With around a month to go before the subscription becomes available to the first players, I’m sure we’ll hear concrete details soon.