PlayStation’s rumored Game Pass competitor, code named Project Spartacus, is going to be focused on offering classic games according to a new report. Revealed by GamesBeat reporter Jeff Grubb on his premium Giant Bomb show (transcribed by VGC), the service is likely close to launching. Grubb said that something is happening by the end of the month; however, it could be an internal milestone that won’t be made public.
Grubb claimed that he has heard of three tiers of service, “essential,” “extra,” and “premium,” with pricing possibly set at $10 per month, $13, and $16, respectively. Grubb added he had not heard about yearly prices. The essential tier is just PS Plus as it currently exists; the extra tier will include all downloadable games currently available on PS Now. The premium tier is where things sound exciting.
The premium tier includes everything in the other tiers, plus cloud streaming for games. It will also reportedly include “classic games,” although Grubb didn’t have many details beyond classic games being a major part of the premium tier. Classic games could mean an expanded catalogue of PS1 and PS2 titles, but that won’t be confirmed until/if the service is officially announced. This tier also includes game trials, similar to what EA Play offers, although it’s unclear which games will have trials and how long the trials will be.
With classic games being the headliner of the highest tier, PlayStation’s service appears to be a hybrid of Xbox’s Game Pass, which includes modern games, and Nintendo’s online service, which includes classic NES, SNES, and N64 games. The three tier system lines up with the Bloomberg report that initially revealed the existence of the Game Pass competitor. The original report stated that the service would launch sometime in the spring, so it could be coming soon.
