PlayStation's Game Pass rival may not get its biggest games day one

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God of War Ragnarok isn't expected to launch simultaneously on PlayStation Spartacus

God of War Ragnarok
(Image credit: Sony)

PlayStation's answer to Xbox Game Pass reportedly won't feature its biggest games on the day they launch.

Bloomberg reported today that Sony is set to reveal its answer to Xbox Game Pass soon, possibly as early as next week. Included in the report is a detail which, if true, would seem to leave PlayStation's subscription service, codenamed Spartacus, at a disadvantage compared to Xbox Game Pass.

Apparently, Sony's overhaul of PlayStation Plus isn't expected to have blockbuster releases day one. The highly anticipated God of War Ragnarok, for example, probably won't be available on PlayStation Spartacus when it launches sometime in 2022. Bloomberg's report doesn't specify how long subscribers will have to wait to play these games after they launch. It also isn't clear which sorts of games will come to PlayStation's streaming service the day they launch.

One of the biggest advantages of being an Xbox Game Pass subscriber is being able to play some of the year's biggest releases as soon as they launch without having to pay anything other than the monthly charge for the service. That said, PlayStation Spartacus is said to be launching with a "splashy lineup of hit games" and will reportedly offer several subscription tiers.

Furthermore, rumors indicate that with its new premium subscription service, Sony will add classic PlayStation, PS2, and PS3 games to PS5 via backwards compatibility, so even without offering PlayStation's biggest releases at launch, Spartacus could still have plenty to offer. 

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Jordan Gerblick
Jordan Gerblick

After scoring a degree in English from ASU, I worked as a copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. Now, as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer, I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my apartment, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.

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