PlayStation Store discontinuing TV and movie purchases and rentals

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You won't be able to purchase or rent movies and TV shows on the PSN Store come August

PlayStation Store
(Image credit: PlayStation)

The PlayStation Store will be discontinuing movie and TV purchases and rentals later this year.

The discontinuing of rentals and purchases through the PSN Store was announced over on the PlayStation Blog earlier today. "We’ve seen tremendous growth from PlayStation fans using subscription-based and ad-based entertainment streaming services on our consoles," explains Vanessa Lee, head of video business at Sony. "With this shift in customer behavior, we have decided to no longer offer movie and TV purchases and rentals through PlayStation Store as of August 31, 2021."

It's important to note, however, that after movie and TV purchases and rentals are discontinued through the PSN Store, you can still access all previously purchased content. So if you purchased any TV shows or movies prior to August 31, you'll still be able to watch them whenever you want.

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We can't say that the move away from on-demand content like this comes as a huge surprise from Sony. The company all but namechecked streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Crunchyroll, and more as dominating the on-demand video streaming service for the last few years.

Sony might be moving away from offering purchases and rentals on PlayStation consoles, but they're venturing into the entertainment industry in a new way, with 10 total properties based on PlayStation IP coming to the big and small screen alike. As was revealed by Sony Pictures' CEO last year in December 2020, seven TV shows and three movies are being developed based on existing PlayStation franchises.

For everything we know so far about just one of those projects, head over to our guide on The Last of Us TV show for more.

Hirun Cryer
Hirun Cryer
Freelance Writer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.