Beginning on September 22, Sony will be raising the membership prices of PlayStation Plus in North America, with Canada getting hit a bit harder than U.S. players. 

The new yearly fee will be $59.99 ($69.99 Canadian), up from $49.99, while the three month renewal will jump to $24.99 ($29.99 Canadian), up from $17.99. The monthly billing rate will remain at $9.99 for U.S. resident, but rise by $2 in Canada to $11.99.

"The new pricing reflects the current market conditions while enabling us to continue providing exceptional value to our members," Sony said in a July 27 blog post, noting that it was the first price increase since teh service launched in 2010. Members won't  see the change until their scheduled bill is due after September 22, and can turn off the auto-renewal function on their account if they do not want to continue their membership. If you renew before that date, you will be charged current prices. Of course, if you want to keep playing multiplayer, you will need to renew.

What is interesting is that Sony decided to slip this announcement in on a post that was dated almost a month ago, revealing the free games coming for August, and not in a separate post. It isn't clear if other regions wlll be getting hit with an increase or not.