Sony has increased the cost of PlayStation Plus membership, sometimes by as much as 50 percent, in select regions.

Affected countries include South Africa, Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and some states across India. In some instances the price hike is significant, such as in South Africa, where the price of a three-month PS Plus subscription has climbed by 50 percent to R219 ($19.55).

This means that PS Plus costs in some regions are now closer to the US price, which is $17.99 for three months.

In a statement sent to Joystiq, Sony assured it had no present intention of increasing the PS Plus price across North America.

“We slightly increased prices for PlayStation Plus in South Africa, Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and India regions due to various market conditions,” a representative said.

“Currently, price adjustments are not being planned for PS Plus in the SCEA [North American] region.”

PlayStation Plus is a versatile games service that gives subscribers discounts on certain PS Vita, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 games. On PS4, a subscription is required to connect with other gamers online.

Along with this, customers receive free games to play each month. From October 7, PS Plus subscribers will be granted access to the following games for free:

PS4:

• Driveclub: PlayStation Plus Edition
• Spelunky (Cross Buy)
• Dust: An Elysian Tail
• Pix the Cat

PS3:

• Batman: Arkham Asylum
• Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara
• Rainbow Moon
• Spelunky (Cross Buy)

Vita:

• Pix the Cat
• Rainbow Moon
• Spelunky (Cross Buy)