Due to the growth of “subscription-based and ad-based” streaming services, Sony’s PlayStation Store will stop selling and renting videos on August 31st, 2021. The company says that, after the August 31st deadline, existing users can still access their purchased movies and TV shows on PlayStation consoles and mobile devices.
Sony began selling movies and TV shows through the PlayStation Store in July 2008. And for a time, PlayStation Store was one of the most popular video on-demand services, largely thanks to the PS3’s popularity as an affordable multi-media solution (it was basically the cheapest Blu-Ray player on the market, plus it had streaming capabilities). Now that Sony is pulling the plug on its video distribution service, people who want to buy or rent digital videos are stuck using VUDU, Apple TV, Prime Video, and a few other services.
When this change takes effect, users can still access movie and TV content they have purchased through PlayStation Store for on-demand playback on their PS4, PS5 and mobile devices. We thank our fans for their continued support, and we look forward to further enhancing the entertainment experience on PlayStation.
While Sony guarantees that customers can still watch their purchased movies and TV shows, the company is yet to clarify how it will support video on-demand customers in the future. The PlayStation Video mobile app already feels a little outdated, and the idea that Sony will continue to support its old and unprofitable video platform seems a bit optimistic.
