Sony’s disc decision is driving gamers to cancel their PS Plus subscription – and in doing so they come across a special offer.
Since Sony announced that it would no longer produce physical games from 2028, parts of the community have been calling for a boycott – and canceling their PS Plus subscription as a sign of protest. What surprises many people is that Sony offers many of these users an attractive discount offer during the cancellation process. Several users on Reddit report up to 50 percent discount on three-month PS Plus subscriptions. For annual memberships for Extra or Premium, a discount of 25 to 33 percent is reported.
PlayStation Plus: Users are jumping ship
Anyone who hopes that Sony is reacting to the protest is wrong. So-called retention algorithms that automatically offer discounts when you cancel are standard industry practice – services like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Wow and Spotify have been using the same method for years. Sony didn’t activate this system in response to the current outrage either; it was already running before. The current protest only made it visible because suddenly many users hit the cancel button at the same time.
But that doesn’t make the trick any less useful. Regular PS Plus discounts for existing subscribers are rarely found at Sony – promotions such as Days of Play have recently been aimed almost exclusively at new customers or long-inactive users.
If you want to extend your PlayStation Plus subscription and simply want to pay less, here is an option: cancel, wait for the offer, decide. However, there is still a bit of risk, as it is not 100 percent certain whether you will even receive such an offer (source: PushSquare).
Sony is trying to keep dissatisfied PS Plus subscribers
However, for everyone who cancels out of genuine protest, the following applies: Accepting the discount means to still give Sony money – and signal to the company that price was the real problem, not the disc decision. If you want to send a clear message, you have to go through with the termination.