Hundreds of games for under R200 per month — Game subscription battle in South Africa

Several gaming subscription services in South Africa provide access to hundreds of titles for a monthly fee that is a fraction of the typical once-off price of a new game.

Major video game publishers have followed the trend in subscription-based services popularised by video streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.

The most well-known and arguably best-liked of these services is Microsoft Game Pass, which is available on PC and Xbox consoles. 

At the time of publication, this subscription offered 441 games on PC and up to 460 on console.

Aside from its high game count, Game Pass’ biggest strength is its day-one releases from Microsoft-owned studios.

The service’s catalogue has recently expanded with major titles like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

In the next few weeks, it will be getting Doom: The Dark Ages and Warhammer: Vermintide 2, among dozens of other additions.

Game Pass’s back catalogue is also extensive. All the Age of Empires, Gears of War, The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Doom, and Wolfenstein games are also on the service.

In addition, the service includes a healthy assortment of third-party titles from large and small publishers.

From Electronic Arts, it offers several Battlefield, Crysis, Dead Space, Mass Effect, Star Wars, and Need for Speed games. It also has many Ubisoft games, including Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Watch Dogs.

In South Africa, the most affordable plan is Xbox Game Pass Core, but this subscription has a smaller catalogue than the main Game Pass subscriptions.

For the biggest selection of games, subscribers will need to pay for a Game Pass Ultimate membership at R199 per month and play on an Xbox Series X|S console.

However, the PC Game Pass price of R119 offers excellent value for money, considering it includes access to 441 titles.

The big competition

Sony’s competitor for Game Pass — PlayStation Plus — also boasts an extensive library of titles on its Extra and Deluxe plans.

The entry-level PlayStation Plus Essential subscription has no set catalogue but will include any games that Sony has made available to claim.

These games are typically revised every month. Once a game has been claimed, it will be playable any time. However, it doesn’t pack the same punch as Microsoft’s offering for day-one releases.

Sony’s first-party games are its biggest drawing card, but also an important revenue driver in terms of normal sales.

Although Sony includes some of its best first-party titles on the service, these were all initially only available to buy for at least a few months before going to PS Plus.

PS Plus starts at R139 per month for Essential, which does not include a game catalogue.

However, this does come with the ability to claim games from a rotating list every month. These games are available whenever a subscriber has an active membership.

The most affordable PS Plus plan with a large games catalogue is PS Plus Extra, which costs R209 per month. It boasted 389 titles at the time of publication.

The others

The last major console manufacturer — Nintendo — also offers a subscription for its Switch users.

For R52 a month, Switch Online subscribers get a library of 170 classic NES, Super NES, and Game Boy titles, as well as game trials, game vouchers, and cloud saves.

Two of the world’s largest game publishers — EA and Ubisoft — also offer their own gaming subscriptions.

New EA and Ubisoft games are also only available from launch day on the more expensive EA Play Pro and Ubisoft+ Premium plans.

However, some of Microsoft and Sony’s subscriptions include titles from the more affordable EA Play and Ubisoft+ Classics catalogues.

EA Play games are in the PC Game Pass, Xbox Game Pass Standard, and Game Pass Ultimate libraries, while Ubisoft+ Classics is available on PS Plus Extra and PS Plus Deluxe.

Microsoft also offers a more affordable Ubisoft+ Premium subscription for Xbox consoles, priced at R199 per month, while PlayStation owners can get Ubisoft+ Classic for R99 through Sony.

For PC gamers, the EA Play and Ubisoft+ subscriptions are charged in dollars and are expensive compared to the Game Pass and PS Plus memberships.

The table below compares the catalogues, features, and prices of gaming subscription services available in South Africa.