PS3 players are reportedly unable to download certain games’ patches

PlayStation 3 players are reporting that several games are not receiving update patches ahead of the digital store’s closure. 

According to a thread on the PSNProfiles Forum, as well as several comments in a Resetera thread, players aren’t able to download PS3 patches that are essential for online play and to earn trophies, whether players own the games digitally or physically. It’s currently affecting several titles including Battlefield 4, Gran Turismo 5, Journey, LittleBigPlanet (Game of the Year Edition), and LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga, plus many more. 

The patches aren't disappearing in a uniform manner; LittleBigPlanet's GOTY edition is affected, but the standard version of the game is not, while only certain territories are affected for Battlefield 4 and Gran Turismo 5, so there’s a possibility that it could be a bug causing these issues rather than as a result of the upcoming store closure. 

As announced a few weeks ago, PlayStation will be shutting down the PlayStation store for PS3 and PSVita players this summer - which also affects the web version of the stores. As confirmed by Sony, once the PS Store shuts down for those consoles affected, players will no longer be able to purchase new digital games through the service or download any patches. 

If there’s one silver lining though, it's that players will still be able to redownload and play games that they had previously purchased through the store, which also includes the free PS Plus games. Just make sure you still have an active subscription for the PlayStation service and have the game updated to the latest version before July 2, 2021 - if its patches haven’t vanished, that is. 

Want to know what games you should check out before the store closes? Take a look at our Best PS3 games list.