Premium PS Plus tier could include anime streaming service Crunchyroll

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Sony now owns two anime streaming services in Funimation and Crunchyroll

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A new PlayStation Plus tier that includes Sony's recently-acquired anime streaming service Crunchyroll may be on the way. 

Following Sony's recent Crunchyroll acquisition, Eurogamer reports that Sony may have plans to introduce another tier as part of its PlayStation Plus subscription service, one that will utilize its two anime services. 

In a press release shared shortly after the company’s acquisition of Crunchyroll, Sony Group Corporation CEO Kenichiro Yoshida said that: “The alignment of Crunchyroll and Funimation will enable us to get even closer to the creators and fans who are the heart of the anime community.  We look forward to delivering even more outstanding entertainment that fills the world with emotion through anime.”

Further down the press release, the CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. Tony Vinciquerra added that: “with the addition of Crunchyroll, we have an unprecedented opportunity to serve anime fans like never before and deliver the anime experience across any platform they choose.”  Vinciquerra added that the company’s goal is to “create a unified anime subscription experience as soon as possible.” If this $1.175 billion deal is an indication of anything, it’s that anime is becoming an increasingly large part of Sony's audience's viewing habits. 

Funimation and Crunchyroll have both recently been involved with other video game companies with Funimation now available on the Nintendo Switch and Xbox teaming up with Crunchyroll to offer its subscribers three months worth of free Xbox Game Pass on PC. 

Hope Bellingham
Hope Bellingham
News Writer

After studying Film Studies and Creative Writing at university, I was lucky enough to land a job as an intern at Player Two PR where I helped to release a number of indie titles. I then got even luckier when I became a Trainee News Writer at GamesRadar+ before being promoted to a fully-fledged News Writer after a year and a half of training.  My expertise lies in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, cozy indies, and The Last of Us, but especially in the Kingdom Hearts series. I'm also known to write about the odd Korean drama for the Entertainment team every now and then.