PlayStation Plus gained over 5 million subscribers in the last year

PlayStation Plus, the PlayStation brand's subscription for online multiplayer and monthly free game give-aways, is nearing 50 million subscribers.

Subscription models have become a key component of the business strategy for console makers PlayStation and Xbox, the latter with the vaunted Game Pass that draws regular comparisons to Netflix, albeit for games.

According to Sony's own internal numbers, PlayStation Plus boasts roughly 47.6 million subscribers as of March 31, 2021. That's up just over 6 million from the 41.5 million reported back in March 2020, and up nearly tenfold from when the PlayStation 4 first launched in 2014.

Sony notes in its Corporate Strategy Meeting that the service's growth is both steady and organic, rather than growth driven by "external investment". Specific figures for that steady growth can be found in the image below.

While Sony seems proud of that organic growth, there are reports of coming variations to PlayStation Plus like the rumored PlayStation Plus Video Pass seemingly leaked via a rogue advertisement back in April. That rumor came only weeks after PlayStation revealed plans to ax its movie and TV show rental business and, if true, could signal a deeper dive into the world of subscriptions for PlayStation.