When you think of a PlayStation 5 bundle, it’s almost always guaranteed that a game comes with it. The most recent one is a bundle that comes with accessories for Final Fantasy 16, which, by the way, just got rave reviews from critics and is on track to, at the very least, be nominated for Game of the Year.
All praises for Final Fantasy 16 aside, it’s been established that the PS5 is usually bundled with a game. But, Sony appears to be changing that with its latest offering.
As captured by the ever-watchful Twitter user @Zuby_Tech, Sony is preparing a new PlayStation 5 bundle that comes with a whopping 24-month subscription to PlayStation Plus Premium.
New PlayStation 5 24 Month PlayStation Plus Premium Bundle:#PlayStation #PlayStation5 #PS5 #DualSense #PlayHasNoLimits #PlayStationPlus pic.twitter.com/m81TYMB2UL
— @Zuby_Tech (@Zuby_Tech) June 19, 2023
That’s right. Buckle up, because this ride isn’t stopping at just any old game station. It’s a full-blown, two-year round trip through the vast PlayStation universe, with its digital galaxies filled with almost 950 games! With an ensemble cast ranging from iconic classics to today’s groundbreaking titles, your gaming nights are about to get much, much longer.
Sony’s PlayStation Plus Premium service has always been a bone of contention for many, with debates swirling around if it offers real value for money. But with this potentially upcoming bundle, that argument seems to be losing its strength. This move appears to be a solid strategy to lure more gamers into the Premium tier, especially given the fact that spending on the service has been gradually increasing since Sony’s introduction of the new tiered structure.
A current snapshot of PS Plus subscribers reveals a fascinating trend: a total of eight million Premium subscribers (17% of total subs), and 6.1 million Extra subscribers (13% of total subs), with the remaining majority of 33.3 million (70% of total subs) comfortably lounging in the Essential tier. That’s a substantial audience ready and waiting for an offer they simply can’t refuse.
The bundle’s potential release comes with perfect timing, too. Insiders claim at a slimmed-down PlayStation 5 model with a detachable disc drive is coming out later this year ahead of the PS5 Pro”s launch next year (on that note, did you know that Microsoft has no plans to release a mid-gen refresh?), suggesting that this bundle could be a strategy to push existing PS5 stock before the next generation rolls in.
Price is a critical factor, though. Depending on its tag, this bundle could become the holy grail for new users who would instantly get the keys to hundreds of games in Sony’s digital kingdom. Some quick calculations, considering a PS5 console retails for $499 and two years of PlayStation Plus Premium costs $239, hint at a possible price tag of around $740. This will make it the most expensive official bundle to date.
Of course, if it’s sold at $700 or even lower, PlayStation 5 will have a clear winner here that will help it sell older stocks of incumbent PS5 models,
However, as per the latest findings, it appears that this bundle might be exclusive to O2, a telecom provider in the United Kingdom and in Germany.
This definitely puts a damper on the hype surrounding what could’ve been Sony’s best-ever bundle. Think about it: the value of a 24-month subscription to PlayStation Plus Premium is undoubtedly higher than a single exclusive game. Besides, this bundle could be your gaming passport for an entire 24 months, sparing you from purchasing individual games while providing access to an ever-evolving library.
So, which is which? Fingers crossed, we’ll find out more about this unannounced PS5 bundle soon.
