Important days lay ahead for Sony. As a returning participant in next-gen gaming with the PlayStation 5, the company, like Microsoft, is doing everything it can to not only keep hold of its loyal install base, but increase that millions-strong figure even further. It’s no secret, of course, that the former has been the runaway winner this gen with the PS4, thanks largely to one of the strongest first-party lineups of any console to date.
Microsoft, on the other hand, has been forced to play catch-up from the start with the Xbox One brand, predominantly due to then-Xbox boss Don Mattrick mandating a strict set of deeply anti-consumerist restrictions for the hardware. There’s still a ways to go until the two are on an even keel once again, then, though under Mattrick’s replacement, Phil Spencer, Microsoft has pioneered a number of industry-leading initiatives, including Game Pass.
Xbox Series X may be lacking a system seller (Halo Infinite has been delayed until 2021 at the earliest), but Game Pass is a near irresistible proposition that Sony knows it needs to address, and soon.
PlayStation Plus Collection isn’t quite the competitor it needs to be just yet, but for a fledgling service intended to be expanded upon in the months and years ahead, PlayStation owners couldn’t have hoped for a better start. 20 games, from both first and third-party developers, will be available on day one of the PS5’s launch, with all existing PS Plus subscriptions gaining access to the following at no additional price.
From Worldwide Studios:
- Bloodborne
- Days Gone
- Detroit: Become Human
- God of War
- Infamous Second Son
- Ratchet and Clank
- The Last Guardian
- The Last of Us Remastered
- Until Dawn
- Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
From third-party publishers and developers:
- Batman: Arkham Knight
- Battlefield 1
- Call of Duty: Black Ops III – Zombies Chronicles Edition
- Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy
- Fallout 4
- Final Fantasy XV Royal Edition
- Monster Hunter: World
- Mortal Kombat X
- Persona 5
- Resident Evil 7 biohazard
PlayStation 5 launches next month, November 12th in North America and one week later worldwide. Let us know if the above has convinced you to stay, or if Game Pass has already won you over, down below!