Sony has pulled their PlayStation Now retail cards ahead of the GamePass launch.
Sony pulls PS Now cards
The console creators decided to discontinue the cards - which can be used to purchase fixed subscription periods for the company's games streaming and download service - and have reportedly told UK retails to pull them from the shelves by 19.01.2022.
A statement from retailer Game reads: "Stores have until the close of day Wednesday 19, January to remove all POS and ESD cards from all customer-facing areas and update their digital bays in line with this week’s upcoming commercial update."
The announcement comes after speculation that Sony are expected to launch a rival to Microsoft's GamesPass service, which acts as a cloud-based subscription library for the XBox. , with the tech giant phasing out PlayStation Now in the process.
Sony told IGN: "Globally, we are moving from PlayStation Now Gift cards to focus on our current cash denomination PlayStation gift cards, which can be redeemed for PlayStation Now.
Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier wrote on Twitter: "Sony is planning a new subscription service, code-named Spartacus, to take on Xbox Game Pass. It's being pitched as a three-tier service that will merge PlayStation Now with PlayStation Plus. Highest tier could include PS1/PS2/PSP games."
After allegedly obtaining documents detailing the plans, Bloomberg reported: "The service, code-named Spartacus, will allow PlayStation owners to pay a monthly fee for access to a catalogue of modern and classic games, said the people, who asked not to be identified because they weren’t authorized to speak to the press about the plans. The offering will likely be available on the smash hit PlayStation 4, which has sold more than 116 million units, and its elusive successor, the PlayStation 5, which launched more than a year ago but is still difficult to buy due to supply chain issues." Whilst the report did not include any details of potential pricing for the potential service, prices for the X-Box service currently start at $14.99/£7.99 per month.