In July 2022, Sony announced that it was launching a new rewards program calledPlayStationStars. This service, which was accessible via browsers and thePlayStationmobile app, was designed to give PlayStation players some digital goodies in exchange for their loyalty. PlayStation Stars was the PlayStation equivalent of the My Nintendo and Microsoft Rewards programs on Nintendo and Xbox consoles. It allowed players to acquire loyalty points, which they could exchange for PlayStation Store gift cards, digital collectibles, and select video games. Said points could be acquired upon completing certain tasks, such as purchasing games, completing quests, and earning specific trophies.
Despite being introduced a few years ago, PlayStation Stars is already coming to an untimely end. Sony confirmed earlier this week thatPlayStation Stars would be discontinued by November 2026, and that “this version of the program” would no longer accept new members. Although PlayStation Stars points will still be redeemable for the time being, there will be no new campaigns or additional rewards available starting in July 2025. Sony added that it was evaluating “new ways to evolve future Loyalty Program efforts,” but it neither provided any specifics on the matter, nor did it state if a revamped version of PlayStation Stars would return in the future.
PlayStation Stars Suffered from a Lot of Issues that Led to Its Downfall
PlayStation Stars had a relatively mixed reception throughout its three-year run, and it wasn’t discussed that often in the PlayStation community. Even still, the service did have some loyal fans. A sizable portion of PlayStation gamers expressed their disappointment at the closure of the program, as they often took advantage of it to get access tofree video games and PSN gift cards. Nonetheless, the service was not used by enough people, largely due to the low value of the rewards it offered.
Like in most modern rewards programs, acquiring points in PlayStation Stars was not as easy as it seemed. PlayStation Stars memberships were divided into four tiers. The more games a player purchased and the more uncommon trophies they unlocked, the higher their tier would be. Level 1 PlayStation Stars members had to spend $1 on the PlayStation Store in order to get 10 points. Although this ratio doesn’t sound that bad, it was pretty unsatisfactory considering the price of most unlockable PlayStation games.Titles likeStellar BladeandThe Quarry, for instance, cost 17,500 points, meaning that Level 1 PlayStation Stars members had to spend $1,750 to get a single $70 game.
The $1,750 statistic only applies to those who obtain points exclusively through full-game purchases. There were, of course, other ways to receive points on PlayStation Stars, though they weren’t as numerous compared to the ones in other programs likeMicrosoft Rewards.
PlayStation Stars Didn’t Function Properly at Times
Questionable points system aside, PlayStation Stars was also subject to a handful of malfunctions throughout the course of its existence. In December 2023, players reported thatthey weren’t receiving PlayStation Stars pointsfor their digital purchases, though this was fixed by Sony shortly thereafter. Then, in June 2024, the program mysteriously went offline for more than one month. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the option to redeem PlayStation Stars points for PSN gift cards was also temporarily removed in October of that year. These technical issues, among other things, effectively made PlayStation Stars a frustrating service to deal with.
Sony Can Still Make a Better Version of PlayStation Stars in the Future
Even though PlayStation Stars was far from perfect, Sony still has room to make more PlayStation rewards programs instead of abandoning the concept entirely. Services like Microsoft Rewards give players an incentive to purchase games on a particular platform, and it’s something that PlayStation could greatly benefit from. With the price ofvideo games gradually increasing to $80, most PlayStation gamers will likely try to find more and more ways to save money. If Sony were to release a newer, more improved version of PlayStation Stars that could be accessed on thePlayStationconsole rather than the PS mobile app, it could potentially find a larger audience, especially in the years to come.
