“This version of the program” is dead as a doornail, but Sony’s considering other ideas
(Image credit: Sony)
PlayStation Stars, the loyalty program thatSonyrolled out in 2022 largely as a way to reward regular players with digital collectibles andveryoccasional game redemptions, is “winding down.”
Here are some key things to know as these changes take place:
- Starting today, PlayStation Stars will no longer accept new members for this version of the program.
- If members choose to cancel their PlayStation Stars membership starting today, it will not be possible to rejoin this version of the program, and members will lose all earned Points.
- Current PlayStation Stars members can still earn Digital Collectibles, Points and level up their status until July 23, 2025 at 7:59AM PDT | 3:59PM BST | 11:59PM JST. After this date, there will be no new PlayStation Stars Campaigns available, or any additional rewards or status benefits to earn.
- This version of the PlayStation Stars program will fully end on November 2, 2026 and current PlayStation Stars members can continue to redeem Points as long as their Points don’t expire before then.
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In a new post on the PlayStation Blog, Grace Chen, vice president of network advertising, loyalty, and licensed merchandise, says “we’ve learned a lot from evaluating the types of activities our players respond best to, and as a company, we are always evolving with player and industry trends.”
Chen specifies that “the current version” of PlayStation Stars is coming to an end, but when or how it or a similar program may return is unclear, so it’s a de facto shuttering. “Starting today, PlayStation Stars will no longer accept new members for this version of the program,” the post adds.
Just to make it clearer, if you cancel your PlayStation Stars membership from today onward, you’ll lose any points you’ve earned, as “it will not be possible to rejoin this version.” PlayStation Stars as we know it is dead.
Current members “can still earn Digital Collectibles, Points and level up their status” until July 23, 2025, but your account will seemingly be timelocked after that. The whole program will “fully end” on November 2, 2026, so you have until then to spend your points.
As demonstrated by its impending shutdown, PlayStation Stars was sometimes seen as a bit underwhelming. Digital collectibles like avatars and trophies did little to wow some fans, perhaps because – and don’t tell the gacha players I said this – digital collections are inherently impermanent and lack tangible satisfaction. The rewards were just kind of… there.
Some people also balked at the ideathat high-level users, who would have leveled up by spending more cash on “full” games and earning rare trophies, could get priority in customer support. I can understand catering to your biggest fans, but I also understand why the sentiment wrinkled some noses. ThePlayStation Stars FAQstill notes that “Level 4 Members in select countries will have the added benefit of Priority routing to our chat support team.”
On the rewards side, PlayStation Stars could be an extremely slow burn. It sounds good on paper, and you could genuinely get some decent stuff out of it, but a meaningful freebie requireda lotof points.
Several high-profile PlayStation games,like the rock-solid action RPG Stellar Bladeandyear-defining hit Helldivers 2, were up for grabs as redeemable rewards, but would require roughly $1,750 worth of accrued points.
Because points expired after two years, which was later changed to one year, you also had to spend that much money in a fairly short window. PlayStation has always been my first-pick console, and I don’t spend anywhere near that much in Sony’s ecosystem.
Even on the lower end, newer games could easily require over $1,000 spent. A free game is a free game if you were gonna spend that money anyway, but free games felt like a pretty small part of the program, and I think some folks expected a little somethingmore.
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“As we explore new ways to evolve our loyalty program efforts for the future, we’ll continue to celebrate all of our players through the various community activities we have planned,” Chen concludes. “The programs we create are all inspired by you, and we look forward to bringing you compelling new experiences for many generations to come.”