Online fighting game tournaments are going to get a bit more expensive for console players
Gaming as a hobby has been getting more expensive lately, and that unfortunately is showing no signs of slowing down any time soon.
Sony announced today they are about to raise the price of PlayStation Plus subscriptions right as players themselves are attempting to file a new lawsuit against the company.
The base cost of PlayStation Plus’ Essential tier is getting more expensive starting this week.
Starting May 20, PS+ prices are going up to $10.99 USD / €9.99 EUR / £7.99 GBP for one-month subscriptions and $27.99 USD / €27.99 EUR / £21.99 GBP for three-month subscriptions.
This is an increase of $1 for monthly users and $3 for the three months, but they didn’t mention a change in price for the yearly or higher tiered subscriptions.
Current users will not see their rates go up outside of Turkey and India, however.
Sony is blaming the hike on “ongoing market conditions,” though they don’t specify what those are exactly.
Starting May 20, PlayStation Plus prices for new customers will increase in select regions. Due to ongoing market conditions, prices will start at $10.99 USD / €9.99 EUR / £7.99 GBP for 1-month subscriptions and $27.99 USD / €27.99 EUR / £21.99 GBP for 3-month subscriptions.…
— PlayStation (@PlayStation) May 18, 2026
Said increase is going to impact the Fighting Game Community considering PS+ is needed to play online on the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, so having it is a necessity for many / most console users.
While it doesn’t exactly apply directly to an online service, the cost of tech has continued to go up in large part due to memory and component shortages driven by AI initiatives and investments.
Although some things have started to slowly go back down, the price of consoles has only gone up.
Sony already put a price hike in place for the PS5 back in March.
Nintendo just announced an increase is coming for the Switch 2 as well, and Xbox upped their costs for systems last year too.
On the flipside, players are now trying to take Sony to court over these practices.
A newly-proposed class-action lawsuit was filed this month in the Northern District of California by plaintiffs Amorey Walker and Bryce Foster-Quarles according to a report from Twisted Voxel.
Said suit alleges that Sony is retaining a “substantial windfall” from tariff prices being passed on to consumers in the United States.
Once the Trump administration’s tariffs were deemed illegal by the Supreme Court, companies could begin applying to receive refunds to recuperate costs, though, it largely left consumers out of the equation — so people are taking matters into their own hands now.
This is very similar to another lawsuit filed against Nintendo over tariff refunds and prices, so we’ll see how this all plays out in the courts eventually.
The Sony case is currently scheduled to hold an initial case management conference on August 3, 2026 where both parties are expected to submit case management statements by July 27.
Specific allegations and potential damages have not been made public yet.
