Earlier in March 2021, a report surfaced claiming a source notified website The Gamer that Sony was preparing to announce a shutdown for the PS3, PSP and Vita corners of the PlayStation Store.
It hasn’t taken long for that official confirmation to roll around. Sony has begun rolling out email notifications of the plan, as well as updating its support website with all the details.
Sony Confirms PS3, PSP and Vita Store Shutdown
You have until this summer to make any purchases on these three platforms. On July 2, 2021, the PS3’s PlayStation Store, and the PSP’s “remaining purchase functionality” will be retired. The Vita gets a little longer, with its storefront not shutting down until August 27.
Once these dates hit, players will no longer be able to make purchases on these devices. No games, no in-game DLC and no redeeming any PSN gift cards. If you have money in your PSN wallet it’ll stay there, but it will only be usable for PS4 or PS5 store purchases.
Players will still be able to access the PlayStation Store for the time being, in order to re-download purchased content. Any game vouchers or PlayStation Plus codes, purchased media content and any claimed PlayStation Plus games will still be available. But many games that only exist on the PlayStation Network will no longer be available for purchase.
With the PlayStation Store closing on these platforms, all three of which had several digital-only releases, the gaming community is being hit with the first major shutdown of our era. Unless some of these games are ported or available elsewhere, many will be completely unattainable by official means.
Let us know what you think about this news over at Prima Games’ Twitter and Facebook feeds.
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