Before we get any closer to the PS6 Launch, Sony still has more issues for us to address regarding the PS5. Last week, Bloomberg reported that Sony is diverting its focus from porting games to PC. Now, as uncovered by PSPrices, a PlayStation Store price tracking site, Sony is apparently testing dynamic pricing for various regions.
We’ve seen dubious reports of similar stuff in the past. For example, when some users switch between PlayStation accounts, they have noticed different prices. There is apparently some weight to these claims, as analyzed by PSPrices.
What Exactly Does “Dynamic Pricing” Mean For Gamers?
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This dynamic pricing issue is quite different from the regional pricing issue we see on Steam. Regional pricing means that pricing is different for each region, but dynamic pricing in this case means that pricing is different for certain users, even if they’re in the same region. According to the report, this new dynamic pricing test has been going on across 70 different regions across 190 games.
This is a sort of controlled “A/B” testing, as Sony wants to figure out consumer spending patterns to know what pricing will get you to buy the game. Previously, the US was not involved in practice, but that has changed since March 2026. Here are some helpful insights from the report:
- Users are randomly placed in control or test groups, and see different prices for the same games
- Discounts in the US are significantly deeper than in Europe: up to −27.8% (Helldivers 2), −24.4% (The Last of Us Part I)
- Sony first-party hits are included: Spider-Man 2, God of War Ragnarök, Gran Turismo 7
- PlayStation API responses from the store are tied to new pricing programs: IPT_PILOT and IPT_OPR_TESTING. These are “experimental” price programs.
For now, the report mainly focuses on discounts in various regions for certain users, not price increases. However, you can easily see how this could swing in another direction as well. We’re not even sure how exactly this dynamic pricing works; what type of user sees the lower prices? Those who are new to PlayStation? Do those who mainly buy games during the holidays? For now, only Sony knows the answer.
Published: Mar 9, 2026 04:00 pm