The number of active members of Sony's PlayStation Plus reached 47.4 million. This represents a year-on-year growth of about 22% and an increase of 8.6 million active members compared to this time last year.

It was also revealed that 87% of PS5 owners subscribe to PlayStation Plus, and since the total number of PlayStation Network accounts is estimated at 114 million, Sony estimates that about half of all online account holders have a premium service. This means that it is not far off that about half of all online account holders are subscribers to the premium service.

Of course, to anyone outside of Sony, this may seem like superficially insignificant news. It is hardly unusual for giant corporations to make huge profits from subscription services. But this impressive growth in PlayStation Plus membership may be significant for players.

Xbox Game Pass now seems to be the darling of the industry. Microsoft's Netflix-style gaming service has been widely (and rightfully) praised throughout the gaming industry for offering users a wide selection of instantly available titles and regularly offering games that launch on day one.

PlayStation gamers have often wondered when Sony would strike back. Sure, the Japanese tech giant has a similar service called PlayStation Now, but it doesn't offer as wide a range of titles as Xbox Game Pass, so there is no comparison.

However, this latest PlayStation Plus subscriber count begs the question: does Sony need an alternative to Game Pass? As of January of this year, there were approximately 18 million gamers signed up for Xbox Game Pass, and PlayStation Plus has already surpassed this number.

PlayStation Plus offers instant access to the PS®Plus collection. This month it is "Oddworld: Soulstorm" and "Day's Gone". So this is already a very good deal.

Of course, PlayStation Plus has the added benefit of being a prerequisite for playing online games on PS4 and PS5. The pay-as-you-go program is likely to have attracted a significant percentage of users who signed up to play online multiplayer games such as "Fortnite," "FIFA," and "Call of Duty."

Nevertheless, it makes sense for Sony to focus on increasing PlayStation Plus membership rather than further dividing the player base with other game subscription services. Perhaps in the future, PlayStation Now will be integrated into PlayStation Plus, a multi-tiered service that gives users access to both a service just for online play and a library of must-play games.

All of this is just speculation, but given that Sony currently offers a service with 50 million active subscribers, calls for Sony to offer an alternative to Game Pass seem misplaced. This number will almost certainly increase throughout the year.

For Sony, it makes the most sense to integrate what it already has. More frequent updates and an expanded PlayStation Plus collection should be offered. In the meantime, Sony doesn't have to give away the Xbox Series X for next to nothing, and can still enjoy the benefit of being able to sell its biggest exclusive titles for $70 a piece.

However, there have been repeated rumors that Sony is looking to fight back against Game Pass. Don't be surprised if that counterattack is actually an expansion of PlayStation Plus. With so many gamers already subscribed, Sony would be foolish to do anything else.