Sony says PlayStation Plus prices in select regions will increase starting May 20, affecting new customers in the UK. Essential will cost £7.99 for one month and £21.99 for three months, with no UK details yet for 12-month or the Extra and Premium tiers.
Sony has made good on its warning that PlayStation Plus prices would rise, with the change due to begin in the UK in just two days.
The updated pricing is set to take effect on May 20, this Wednesday, and it will apply to new customers in select regions. Anyone already subscribed will not be forced to pay more right away, but those who change plan or allow their current subscription to lapse will face the new rates.
Sony’s announcement came through a post on X on May 18. 2026. stating that prices for PlayStation Plus will go up starting May 20 in select regions.. It says that. due to ongoing market conditions. 1-month subscriptions will start at £7.99 GBP. while 3-month subscriptions will start at £21.99 GBP.. International pricing was also listed alongside those UK figures.
Until now, the company has refused to say what the cost of PlayStation Plus will be for a full 12 months.. That gap matters because Sony’s own position on its console line is becoming harder to square with expectations that it might move on from PlayStation 5 soon.. With “PlayStation 6 becoming increasingly impractical” due to rising memory costs. Sony is effectively tied to the current generation even as PS5 sales begin to fall.
Last June. PlayStation boss Hideaki Nishino had insisted the service “offers great value” and said Sony would “continue to add more value” while adjusting its pricing strategy “in a dynamic way to maximise profitability.” Today’s move puts that strategy into motion. shifting additional cost onto subscription upgrades rather than console hardware.
At present, Sony has only published specific prices for Essential: £7.99 for one month and £21.99 for three months.. The other tiers are left without any stated figures, including what PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium will cost after May 20.. Sony also hasn’t provided a UK price for a 12-month Essential subscription. though the reported Essential increase is £1 for one month and £2 for three months—described as a 10% to 14% increase—placing 12-month Essential roughly in the £65 to £70 range. up from a current £59.99.
The timing and the pricing gaps leave gamers facing immediate decisions about whether to renew now or accept a higher cost later. Essential is also required to play most paid-for games online, meaning the change is not just a headline for bargain hunters—it is tied to access to online play.
The sequence of events is stark: Nishino’s pledge last June was that Sony would adjust pricing while keeping the service’s value front and centre, and now the company has confirmed a specific May 20 rise for new customers while still withholding the 12-month and tier pricing details.
Broader subscription price pressure is not limited to PlayStation.. The move comes as other parts of the industry grapple with tariffs and a wider memory crisis.. The source notes that Nintendo has acknowledged it would need to raise the price of the Switch 2. and that it previously tried to increase prices on “inessential peripherals. ” including controllers and webcams. before turning to subscriptions as another lever for maintaining profits without raising the cost of core hardware.
For many players, the frustration is that they are being asked to pay more even as console generation costs would traditionally be expected to fall over time—an expectation now being challenged by market conditions and the push to monetise existing ownership.
PlayStation Plus PS Plus UK price increase Sony Essential May 20 gaming subscriptions Hideaki Nishino