{"id":126868,"date":"2026-06-03T16:54:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T14:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/?p=126868"},"modified":"2026-06-04T13:42:19","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T11:42:19","slug":"playstation-plus-vs-xbox-game-pass-in-south-africa-gaming-subscription-showdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/features\/126868-playstation-plus-vs-xbox-game-pass-in-south-africa-gaming-subscription-showdown","title":{"rendered":"PlayStation Plus vs Xbox Game Pass in South Africa – gaming subscription showdown"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

South African gamers with a PlayStation or Xbox console can subscribe to services that give them access to a wide range of online multiplayer games and other popular titles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Operating almost like Netflix for games, these subscription services comprise multiple tiers to give you access to more games, with pricing starting at R139 per month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Considering that many new top-tier games start at prices over R1,000 each, the subscription model can be attractive to South African gamers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is especially true since these subscriptions give gamers access to exclusive discounts on top of a large library of games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, instead of spending R1,499 on a single game, you can invest a similar amount into a year-long subscription and unlock tonnes of titles instantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The drawback is that you don’t own the games included in your subscription, so if you cancel your subscription, you lose access to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If Sony or Microsoft remove games from the subscription, you also can no longer play them. This is what happened with the Call of Duty<\/a> franchise on several Xbox Game Pass tiers in April 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Console prices start at around R9,000 for the base model Xbox Series S 512GB, and go up to about R18,000 for the higher-end Series X 1TB Disc Edition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, the PlayStation 5 currently starts at about R11,999 for the base model Slim Digital Edition, and goes up to around R21,000 for the PS5 Pro 2TB edition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Xbox Game Pass<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The price of Xbox Game Pass has been volatile recently, rising by up to 109%<\/a> in October 2025, as reported by MyBroadband.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The original price hike also included reductions in library sizes for certain tiers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, a few months later, Microsoft cut prices<\/a> across several tiers after it appointed a new gaming CEO, Asha Sharma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are four tiers of Game Pass, although one is PC-only. The other three tiers offer games that are playable on both console and PC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Popular titles on Xbox Game Pass – depending on your tier – include Fortnite, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, Call of Duty Warzone, Minecraft, Rocket League, Rainbow Six Siege, Overwatch, Among Us, and Valorant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is what South African gamers get with each console-supported tier in 2026:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tier<\/th>Monthly price<\/th>Library size<\/th>Included<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Xbox Game Pass Essential<\/td>R139<\/td>50+ games<\/td>– Online multiplayer access
– In-game benefits<\/td><\/tr>
Xbox Game Pass Premium<\/td>R199<\/td>200+ games<\/td>– Online multiplayer access
– In-game benefits
– Access to new Xbox games within one year of launch<\/td><\/tr>
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate<\/td>R239<\/td>400+ games<\/td>– Online multiplayer access
– In-game benefits
– New games on launch day
– EA Play and Ubisoft+ included<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

PlayStation Plus<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The price of the PlayStation Plus subscription last changed in June 2025, when the subscription fee went up by between 16-19%, according to MyBroadband<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its pricing structure also differs depending on the length of time you subscribe for. For example, if you subscribe to a month-to-month payment package, you pay R149 per month for the lowest tier (Essential).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you pay once-off for three months, that becomes R136 per month, and if you subscribe for a full 12 months, it works out to R92 per month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unlike with Game Pass, PlayStation’s lowest tier does not give you access to a library of games. The lowest tier enables you to play online, and you can claim a couple of free games every month, which you can keep and play while you have the subscription.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PS Plus comprises two distinct game catalogues, with the second and third tiers of the service offering access to around 450 and 600 games respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are three tiers, as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tier<\/th>Monthly price<\/th>Library size<\/th>Included<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
PlayStation Plus Essential<\/td>1-month subscription:
R149 per month

3-month subscription:
R136.3 per month (R409 total)

12-month subscription:
R92.4 per month
(R1,109 total)<\/td>		Only monthly free games<\/td>– Online multiplayer
– Free monthly games
– Exclusive discounts
– Cloud storage
<\/td><\/tr>
PlayStation Plus Extra<\/td>1-month subscription:
R229 per month

3-month subscription:
R216.3 per month
(R649 total)

12-month subscription:
R155.8 per month
(R1,869 total)<\/td>		450+ games<\/td>– Online multiplayer
– Free monthly games
– Exclusive discounts
– Cloud storage
– Game Catalogue (402 games)
– Ubisoft+ Classics (58 games)<\/td><\/tr>
PlayStation Plus Deluxe<\/td>1-month subscription:
R279 per month

3-month subscription:
R256.3 per month
(R769 total)

12-month subscription:
R183.3 per month
(R2,199 total)<\/td>		600+ games<\/td>– Online multiplayer
– Free monthly games
– Exclusive discounts
– Cloud storage
– Game Catalogue (402 games)
– Ubisoft+ Classics (58 games)
– Classics Catalogue (164 games)
– Cloud streaming
– Free game trials
– Sony Pictures Catalogue (100+ movies)<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is how the prices and offerings of the two main console gaming subscriptions in South Africa compare.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":266,"featured_media":126883,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"idle","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"","_sma_facebook_post_id":"","_sma_instagram_post_id":"","_sma_x_attempts":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[91,5405,71,25792],"class_list":["post-126868","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","tag-microsoft","tag-playstation-plus","tag-sony","tag-xbox-game-pass"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126868","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/266"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=126868"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126868\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":126894,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126868\/revisions\/126894"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/126883"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=126868"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=126868"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=126868"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}