It's the end of an era – Sony has announced that it's officially closing down the PlayStation Store on PS3 and Vita… five years after it first decided that was a bad idea.
Announcing it in a blog post today, Sid Shumen, senior director of Sony Interactive Entertainment's content communications, writes: "After nearly two decades of supporting the PS3 console generation, we wanted to let you know we will be closing the PlayStation Store on PS3, as well as on PS Vita."
Getting déjà vu? You might remember that we've been here before. Sony announced this was going to happen back in 2021, before it quickly U-turned on the decision and kept the stores running. Now, though, we're running out of luck.
For some regions, the closure is as early as next month. For Mexico, Honduras, and Nicaragua, "PlayStation Store on PS3 will close starting August 2026," it's stated. Then, for "additional Latin American and Middle Eastern countries," the PS3 store will close in late 2026. Finally, "in all other countries, PlayStation Store on PS3 and PS Vita will close in July 2027."
"We know this news may be disappointing to PS3 and PS Vita players who hold a special place in their hearts for this generation of gaming. PS3 and PS Vita represent an important era in our PlayStation history, so this was not an easy decision for us to make," the post reads.
"As we continue to expand the PlayStation experience on newer devices that most of our users are playing on today, we need to focus more resources on delivering the best gaming experiences on these platforms as we look ahead towards the future."
But why now?
Sony explains: "As the PlayStation Store continues to evolve to support modern commerce systems, including updated payment processing standards, PS3 and PS Vita are no longer able to support these updates at the level required."
At the very least, while you won't be able to make new purchases, you will still be able to redownload any previously purchased content.
It's reminiscent of Nintendo's decision to close the Wii U and 3DS eShops in 2023 – a huge blow to fans, and also potentially a devastating loss for game preservation as it becomes harder and harder to access older releases.
