The younger me would have been amazed at how affordable gaming has become. This may sound strange – after all, new games and video game consoles are getting more and more expensive – but with the advent of services like PlayStation Plus and with Game Pass, gaining access to hundreds of titles is only a matter of a relatively small monthly fee. This brings a host of other problems, especially for smaller developers and publishers looking to turn a profit, but for the average consumer it's definitely a net positive.
I use Xbox Game Pass on my PC and PlayStation Plus Extra on my PS5, so I feel like I have a pretty solid grasp of the pros and cons of these services, and I'm not shy about calling one better than the other. Despite Xbox's recent woes, Game Pass is still arguably better than the PS Plus catalog thanks to pure, concentrated quality. In other words, Game Pass has a higher density of worthwhile games, while PS Plus, while still good in many ways, is more cluttered with niche or unthreatened titles. Nowhere is this more evident than in the number of sports games on the service, which in my opinion are basically just filler items.
There's still one huge wall that Xbox Game Pass can't overcome
Despite the fact that Xbox Game Pass has a lot to offer gamers, there is one huge wall that leads the gaming market.
Traditional sports games are among the least exciting on the market
I'm not sure if it's controversial, but I like sports games, specifically those from older franchises Madden and NBA 2Kthey are remarkably uninteresting. Don't get me wrong, they can be fun – I've spent countless hours playing them 2K with friends growing up and still occasionally growing up – but also quite cynical and creatively wanting. These games are the pinnacle of an antiquated, consumer-unfriendly annual release cycle and all the problems that come with it.
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There is an obvious problem with major sports franchises such as Madden basically releasing the exact same game every year, at $70 a pop and with countless microtransactions. But such franchises are also marked by a staggering lack of quality and ambition in other, less immediately recognizable ways. For example, editing, acting, directing, character animation, and writing almost all of them NBA 2K My career is often abysmal. Even though the series brings in established filmmakers like Spike Lee and established actors like Idris Elba, they still feel bland and obligatory, like they're only there because viewers expect a solo campaign, not because anyone actually wants to make one.
Maybe you don't really care about that kind of thing and just want to play a few matches with friends or online. I don't begrudge it, but consider this: flaws like poor MyCareer are emblematic of a broader lack of effort on behalf of these franchises. If all you want to do is play standard multiplayer modes where you're actually on the field, court, etc., you might not feel the impact of this lack of effort at first. But after so many years of the same mechanical framework and features, even these core modes are starting to feel cheap, despite the fact that these games are actually demanding more and more money from their player base with each release.
PlayStation Plus sports games offer little value to subscribers
Sports games added to PlayStation Plus in the last six months
- EA Sports FC 26
- Football Manager 26
- Crew Motorfest
- Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions
- Madden NFL 26
- Rugby 25
- Unlimited Solar Crown test drive
- Art of Rally
- Expeditions: A Mudrunner Game
- Moto GP 25
- EA Sports WRC 24
Pay close attention to what I call “traditional” or “legacy” sports games, which are generally represented by the last two digits of the year in the title. As of December 2025, a surprising number of such games have been released on various levels of PS Plus, indicating a growing trend. I'm not sure, but I definitely feel like these games are being added more to fill out the library and compete with similar on-demand services, than to really increase the value of the service itself.
I say this because sports games have historically seen much faster price cuts than other video games. Take it Madden NFL 26for example. If you go to the GameStop website, you will find that the digital version of this game, which was released less than a year ago for $70, can be purchased for only $14. This is even more striking when you realize it Madden NFL 26 is essentially identical with Madden NFL 25which GameStop sells brand new for just $7.
With most PS Plus subscribers looking for the best bang for their buck, the increasing number of sports games is a little worrying; at the end of the day, these assembly line releases simply don't offer the same value as the games Horizon Forbidden West and Wuchang: Fallen Feathers. With a PlayStation Plus Extra membership costing $15 a month and an Essential subscription costing $10, it's disappointing to see so many bargains.
PlayStation Plus is still a good deal in my opinion, but I still feel my excitement wane whenever I see a sports game added to the catalog. Aside from the financial value element, annual sports games are creatively redundant and uninspired, and generally the opposite kind of experience I come to platforms like PS Plus for. I subscribe to PS Plus for two main reasons: to save money with affordable access to games that would otherwise be very expensive, and to enjoy unique and diverse gaming experiences. Basically sports games in spirit FIFA, EA Sports FCand Maddenthey do not meet either of these goals.
