PlayStation Stars, the membership service from Sony that allows users to rack up points that can then be used on digital goods and gift cards for the PlayStation store, has now become considerably worse. Since its introduction a few years back, PlayStation Stars has divided PS5 and PS4 users. While many have appreciated getting any sort of “free” rewards for their purchases on the PlayStation Store, PS Stars has also had some big issues, especially throughout 2024. Now, the service has received a notable downgrade that will make it even more difficult to earn points in the future.
As of today, Sony sent out an email to all PlayStation Stars members informing them of changes to the platform that will be coming. The first such change will begin today, October 24th, and will see any points that have been earned on PS Stars expiring after a period of 12 months. Any points earned prior to this date “will continue to expire at the end of the month plus 24 months from the date on which they appear in your PlayStation Stars account balance.”
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Perhaps the most upsetting change to PS Stars, though, is that Sony will no longer count subscription charges toward the points that can be earned on the service. While subscriptions like PlayStation Plus previously gave users rewards points for PS Stars, this is now being excluded. The only silver lining to this alteration is that it won’t kick in until March 1, 2025, which means that PlayStation Stars members can still get points from their subscriptions for a few more months.
PlayStation Stars Members Are Frustrated
As expected, with no positive changes being made to PlayStation Stars for its members, many who use the service regularly are not upset. On the official PS5 subreddit, hordes of PS Stars users have been airing their grievances with Sony over this update. Many have expressed that PS Stars is now essentially useless and has become far too difficult to earn points. Meanwhile, others have noted that this is merely Sony following a larger trend of other companies that have done away with their rewards programs.
“Yeah. Totally diminished any amount that I cared about this system,” said u/ToothlessFTW. “Oh well, it was fun while it lasted. I used subscription points to buy the Bloodborne DLC.”
“Keep on squeezing, Sony,” added u/NotSoWishful. “Get every penny, every nickel you can out of your customers. I’m sure it’ll never backfire.”
On Sony’s part, the strangest thing is that the corporation hasn’t provided any sort of explanation for why this tweak was made to PS Stars in the first place. If points could’ve been earned in a larger quantity when completing campaigns or making purchases on the PS Store, perhaps many would have accepted this removal of points being earned for subscriptions. Instead, Sony simply seems content with lessening PS Stars for no reason, which is bizarre to see.
How do you feel about this overhaul to PlayStation Stars? Are you going to continue using the service for yourself, or are you instead now choosing to ignore it? Be sure to let me know your own thoughts over on X at @MooreMan12.