PlayStation Now hits 2.2 million subscribers

Sony says 2.2 million people are subscribed to PlayStation Now, its cloud gaming subscription service that offers access to a growing selection of first- and third-party titles.

PlayStation Now has more than doubled its subscription count from around this time last year when Sony reported that over 1 million people were subscribed. The increase in paid PlayStation Now subscribers also comes seven months after Sony announced it was slashing its pricing, with subscriptions now costing $9.99 a month or $59.99 for one year. They previously cost $19.99 a month or $99.99 annually.

Though the number of PlayStation Now subscribers looks huge on paper, Sony launched the service over five years ago, so it’s been slow to grow. Its closest competitor, Xbox Game Pass, which also offers a massive library of games for subscribers to play, had accumulated 10 million subscribers as of April after launching in 2017.

Sony’s online gaming service, PlayStation Plus, is growing, too. It hit 41.5 million subscribers at the end of March, a 5 million-user increase compared to around this time last year when Sony reported PlayStation Plus exceeded over 36 million active users. Microsoft reported that Xbox Live has amassed 90 million active users in late April.

These numbers may have also seen an increase due to the coronavirus pandemic since many are stuck at home and looking for entertainment. That’s been lucrative for gaming, with the industry raking in a record $10.9 billion in the first quarter of 2020.

source: theverge