It is fair to say that Xbox's Game Pass has been a roaring success for the brand. With hundreds of games available for $10-$15 a month, the service has been considered the Netflix of video games. This makes it no surprise that Sony is reportedly working on its own subscription-based service, currently codenamed "Spartacus" and is targeted to release in spring 2022.

The new report comes from Jason Schreier at Bloomberg, who cites those familiar with Sony's plans as well as documents reviewed by Bloomberg. The upcoming service will meld together what is currently known as PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now. The documents that Bloomberg reviewed suggest that PlayStation Plus, which is currently used to access multiplayer features for many games as well as provides subscribers free monthly games and deals, would retain its function and branding. Meanwhile, PlayStation Now, which is PlayStation's current subscription service that allows players to stream and download from a library of new and old games to their console, will be phased out as a brand.

The Bloomberg report also states that the service will be broken down into three distinct tiers. The first one would provide subscribers with the currently existing PlayStation Plus features and benefits. The second tier would come with a large catalog of PlayStation 4 and 5 games. The third tier would add extended demos, game streaming, and a library of classic PS1, PS2, PS3, and PSP games. While it makes sense for the service to be heading to Sony's newest console, the PlayStation 5, Bloomberg says that it is also very likely that the new service will also be making its way to the PlayStation 4 as well.

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Image via Sony

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Despite having a growing library of games with even fairly recent titles such as 2018's God of War and The Last of Us Part II and PlayStation classics like Final Fantasy XI, PlayStation Now has not seen widespread success like other PlayStation services like PlayStation Plus and trails far behind Xbox Game Pass. As of January 2021, Game Pass had over 18 million subscribers sign up for the service across both Xbox consoles and PC with no signs of any massive exodus. The Bloomberg report also says that the people familiar with the plans said Sony is putting resources into expanding its efforts in cloud gaming after Microsoft’s xCloud game streaming service became widely available earlier this year.

While not confirmed, Sony's new competition to Xbox Game Pass, Spartacus, is expected to launch in the spring of 2022.