PS Plus subscription stacking is no longer available until the June revamp

PlayStation Plus prepaid code redemption and new purchases have been disabled for existing subscribers, preventing users from “stacking” their subscriptions to the paid service for PlayStation owners. The decision to prevent players with an active PS Plus subscription from adding additional months comes ahead of Sony’s planned revamp of its PS Plus service in June. The Japanese company recently announced three subscription tiers – PS Plus Essential, PS Plus Extra, and PS Plus Deluxe – and revealed that players will be upgraded to an equivalent tier for the duration of their longest active subscription.

Users on Twitter and gaming forum Resetera first reported the inability to stock up on their PlayStation Plus subscriptions, as spotted by Pushsquare. Users who attempt to redeem redeemed promotional codes receive an error code stating: “The prepaid card could not be used. Please try again later.”

According to the report, even purchasing a PS Plus subscription through the PS Store, on the browser and on the console, while a subscription is already active, gives users an error message stating: “Unable to buy. Unable to add to cart. You have already purchased this item. Previously, players could purchase a subscription even if they already had an existing one, which would effectively be “stacked” on top of the existing subscription.

Gadgets 360 has independently verified that PS Plus subscriptions cannot be stacked. We received the same error as above.

Shop To, a retailer that has temporarily stopped selling PS Plus prepaid codes, responded to a customer saying the codes won’t be redeemable until mid-June while on an active subscription. Sony had disabled stacking subscriptions to prevent gamers from exploiting the rollover of subscriptions, according to Pushsquare. Sony has yet to officially admit if subscription stacking has been stalled until the new subscription service is introduced in June.

Announced in March, Sony’s revamped PS Plus subscription service will launch in Asian markets first, followed by the Americas and Europe (including India). The PS Plus subscription will be available in three tiers – PS Plus Essential, PS Plus Extra and PS Plus Deluxe. The highest tier offers access to cloud streaming in some markets, where it’s known as PS Plus Premium.

Earlier this week, Sony also revealed pricing for the new PS Plus service in India. The lowest tier, PlayStation Plus Essential, will be priced the same as PS Plus today, starting at Rs. 449 per month. The mid-tier, PlayStation Plus Extra, is priced at Rs. 749 per month. Finally, the highest tier, PlayStation Plus Deluxe, will cost players Rs. 849 per month. Quarterly and annual plans are also available.

The new PlayStation Plus is set to launch on June 22 in India.