Sony Confirms PS Plus Subscription Stacking Has Been Blocked

Update: We’ve finally got access to the conversion scheme that Sony’s put in place for active members looking to redeem a pre-paid PS Plus or PS Now voucher they’ve purchased. To reiterate, if you’re already a PS Plus or PS Now member, you won’t be able to redeem this code until 13th June in the US and 22nd June in Europe.

If you don’t currently have an active membership but have purchased a pre-paid voucher you will be able to redeem it any time (and we’d recommend you do, because the conversion will be less valuable after the transition, particularly in the case of PS Now).

Here’s how PS Plus subscriptions will convert:

And here’s how PS Now memberships will convert:

Just to reiterate, because it’s seriously confusing:

• If you’re an active PS Plus member, you’ll be transitioned to PS Plus Essential for the remainder of your active subscription.
• If you’re an active PS Now member, then you’ll be transitioned to PS Plus Premium for the remainder of your active subscription.
• If you’re an active PS Plus and PS Now member, you’ll be transitioned to PS Plus Premium for the remainder of your longest active subscription.
• If you bought a pre-paid PS Plus or PS Now voucher code, you will not be able to redeem it until 13th June in the US and 22nd June in Europe if you’re already an active PS Plus or PS Now member. When you do redeem it, your subscription tier will be extended based on the conversion rates listed above.
• If you bought a pre-paid PS Plus or PS Now voucher code but aren’t currently an active PS Plus or PS Now member, you’ll be able to redeem it at any time. If you don’t redeem it until after 13th June in the US and 22nd June in Europe, it will convert as per the conversion rates for new subscribers listed above.

What a mess!

Original Article: Sony has officially confirmed that it has blocked existing PS Plus subscribers from stacking memberships prior to the release of its new tiers. In a sneaky update to an FAQ, the platform holder added the following language: “If you currently have a PS Plus or PS Now membership, due to changes we are making to the service prior to launch, you won’t be able to redeem a voucher code for that service until your existing membership expires and deactivates, or after the new PS Plus service launches in your area, whichever happens first.”

Earlier this week, it emerged that the manufacturer was preventing existing PS Plus subscribers from extending their membership using both the PS Store and pre-paid vouchers. Some assumed this was a technical glitch, but language from the firm’s support departments suggested this was all intentional – despite no prior communication from the company at all. Members of both PS Plus and PS Now will automatically be upgraded to PS Plus Premium for the duration of their longest subscription, and some were attempting to utilise the loophole to extend their membership to the highest tier.

It’s worth reiterating that, despite being a loophole, there had been no prior communication from Sony that PS Plus stacking would be disabled until today.

The company says that it will honour any PS Plus vouchers purchased, but active members will not be able to redeem them until the new service launches. Furthermore, they will be converted to an equivalent value for the tier they’re currently in: “The PS Plus or PS Now voucher you redeem will be converted to a length of time on your current PS Plus membership plan equivalent to the monetary value of the voucher you are redeeming. For example, a 1-month PS Plus voucher will provide access to approximately 3 weeks of PS Plus Extra or approximately 2.5 weeks of PS Plus Premium.”

The website includes a link to a conversion chart but, as of the time of writing, that points to a blank page. Of course, that’s par for the course for this company’s incompetent communication standards, we suppose.