PlayStation Plus has lost several million subscribers in the last quarter, despite a large revamp to its service in June. However, the service has been more profitable during the period.
In its financial report by PlayStation (via VGC), the platform revealed that two million subscribers were lost quarter on quarter. Over July, August, and September, the service garnered 45.4 million subscribers, down from 47.3 million in the three months prior.
In that call (also transcribed by VGC), Sony’s CFO Hiroki Totoki spoke on the disappointing numbers saying: "There have been a declining number of members of PlayStation Plus. However, in the second quarter, we renewed our services and there hasn’t been a great momentum as a whole."
Totoki said that the decline was likely due to declining PS4 and third-party game sales but also blamed people 'going outside' since the Covid pandemic decline.
Despite all this, Sony has actually increased its services revenue by 8.6% in the quarter. This takes into account both advertisement and PS Plus, with the section taking in ¥116 billion ($788m), up from ¥106 billion ($720m). This will likely be down to existing customers upping their subscription tiers and paying more each month. The new PS Plus has tiers, allowing players to choose their experience, with an Xbox Game Pass-like service that allows you to install games, as well as the highest tier that lets players play Sony classics and stream games.
That's, of course, great news, but overall, it's a disappointing result for Sony who likely would have been hoping for the PS Plus revamp to attract more players. What this means for the service and PlayStation going forward, it's hard to say, but it does seem that the company's once meteoric rise during the PS5 generation is beginning to slow down ever so slightly.
Want to find something to play on your console? Check out our list of the best PS5 games.
