It turns out that everyone who was stacking PlayStation Plus subscriptions a few weeks back actually saved nothing on their upcoming subscription fees.
The all-new PlayStation Plus has officially launched in Asian markets, including Hong Kong. Taking to Twitter a few hours ago, players from the region have confirmed that Sony Interactive Entertainment is charging a higher upgrade fee to players who either purchased or stacked PlayStation Plus subscriptions at a discount before the launch.
In what is being dubbed an anti-consumer move, players who want to upgrade to say PlayStation Plus Premium must pay the price difference regardless of how many years they have subscribed in advance. The upgrade fee will hence cover whatever you thought you saved by stacking subscriptions at discounted rates.
I'd alluded to this possibility earlier here. But Sony's gone and done something way worse: if you stacked for several years, you HAVE to pay the upgrade fee for the entire rest of your PS+ subscription, how many ever years that might be. Just horrible.https://t.co/DPJkDDXu80
— Is PS5 Out in India? 🇺🇦 (@PS5India) May 24, 2022
The previous annual $60 subscription fee is now $120 for PlayStation Plus Premium. If you were previously subscribed to both PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now, you will automatically be upgraded to PlayStation Plus Premium provided that your existing PlayStation Plus subscription was for the longest duration.
It was why players began stacking subscriptions a few weeks back. There were cases where some players were able to subscribe for the next decade in a bid to save hundreds or thousands of dollars for when the service relaunches as a multi-tiered platform. That was before Sony stepped in to stop players from stacking subscriptions.
To make it clearer; if your previous five-year subscription plan was automatically upgraded to PlayStation Plus Premium at just $60 a year, you will have to pay the price difference of $300 for all five years the next time you want to renew or upgrade your subscription plan.
Sony has made no official announcements regarding its upgrade fee at the time of writing. Considering that players are being forced to pay an amount they previously saved through a discounted fees, a clarification should be coming soon.
