Sony, through its latest statements to UK regulatory body, the Competition and Market Authority, has revealed that, while Xbox Game Pass has been quite successful for Microsoft, Sony’s new tiered version of PlayStation Plus has been struggling.
Without revealing solid subscriber numbers, Sony states that PlayStation Plus Extra and PlayStation Plus Deluxe subscriber numbers are behind Xbox Game Pass figures. The company likely omitted PlayStation Plus Essential since that subscription is needed for online multiplayer.
“Game Pass leads PlayStation Plus significantly,” says Sony in the statement. “Microsoft already has a substantial lead in multi-game subscription services. Game Pass has 29 million subscribers to Xbox Game Pass console and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, and is expected to grow substantially in the future. The multi-game subscription tiers of PlayStation Plus considerably lag [behind].”
Microsoft had revealed back in January that Xbox Game Pass had surpassed the 25 million subscriber count. Sony’s statement would mean that at least 4 million more subscribers have since joined the service over the year.
Other statements made by Sony as part of its 22-page document to the Competition and Market Authority state that Microsoft’s acquisition of Call of Duty-maker Activision Blizzard would severely harm competition, and that Microsoft wants Sony to become like Nintendo in terms of being able to compete.