After rumors and reports earlier this month, it’s now official: The PlayStation Stores on PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, and PlayStation Portable consoles will no longer function after this summer. Sony confirmed the closure in an announcement on the PS Support site’s notice board and urged users to transition to PS4 and PS5 consoles where possible.
The announcement reads: “We are closing PlayStation™Store on PlayStation®3 consoles on 2nd July 2021 and on PlayStation®Vita devices on 27th August 2021. Additionally, the remaining purchase functionality for PSP™ (PlayStation®Portable) will also retire on 2nd July 2021.” These dates are in line with the report earlier this month that reported on the possible closure. Considering the consoles are now all officially retired, it doesn’t come as a huge surprise, but it’s still sad to see them go.
After the listed dates, Sony says you will no longer be able to, “purchase PS3, PS Vita and PSP digital content, including games and video content” or “make in-game purchases through games on PS3, PS Vita, and PSP.” You will still be able to download games you’ve previously purchased from the downloads list. Sony adds that, if you have money left in your PSN wallet and don’t want to transition to the PS4 or PS5, you can ask for a refund.
This weekend, gamers who’d been using a workaround to access an older web version of the PlayStation Store to buy games for the aforementioned consoles discovered it was no longer accessible. This seemed to be the first sign that the report from TheGamer would turn out to be true. Players should expect to lose access to a number of classic titles that aren’t available on either PS4 or PS5. Players should buy any games they want for those three consoles now before the stores close — I know I’m going to be cleaning up the PS1 titles available on my Vita.