It’s official: Sony is shutting down the PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, and PlayStation Vita digital stores. PlayStation formally revealed that the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable (PSP) stores will close on July 2, 2021, with the PlayStation Vita store going offline on Aug. 27, 2021. You can access information on the topic on the “Discontinued PlayStation apps, features, and services” support page.
When the cutoff date rolls around for each service, you will no longer be able to purchase any games or movies. This includes in-game purchases like DLC, with the ability to redeem PSN wallet fund vouchers on each service also leaving. So, if there are any digital PlayStation 3, PSP, or Vita games that you’ve been dying to play, you have a few months to make your purchases in the stores before the option is taken away for good.
Thankfully, you’ll still be able to access / re-download previously purchased games, movies, and other media after the stores are shut down. You can also continue to redeem vouchers for PlayStation Plus and individual video games after the services are taken offline, and PlayStation Plus subscribers will still be able to download their previously claimed games too. If you purchased any cross-buy games, those will still be accessible as well.
As for the reasoning behind the decision to close the digital stores, an email shared by Sony states, “After thoughtful consideration, we decided to make these changes in an effort to focus our resources for PlayStation Store on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, which will enable us to enhance the customer experience even further.” We first heard that Sony may be shutting down some of its past online stores in a report last week.
